Jaune's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Remnant
by Kyraptor
Summary: Team RWBY and team JNPR's remains are brought into a room by a mysterious force. They watch Jaune Arc's ascension from a disgraced beacon student to a GANGSTAR! This is an AU based off of SkeletalBeatz's and Vacarria's stories.
1. A New Adventure Begins!

AN: **Hey guys!** **How** **are you all doing today? This is chapter 1 of Jaune's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Remnant, this story will follow the same premise as Vacarria's Stardust Crusaders: End of Remnant(RIP), all credit for this story actually being a concept goes to him, I would really appreciate** **constructive** **criticism of this story as english isn't my first language and you guys should feel free to point out any mistakes in grammar and spelling that I make, now that I've made my introduction, lets jump right in to it.**

 _ **OPEN THE GAME!**_

* * *

"Wait... Where are we?" Questioned Pyrrha Nikos, one third of the recently reformed team NPR.

"I don't know, I was just hanging out when I suddenly just teleported." Responded Yang Xiao Long, the fiery blonde of team RWBY.

"What even is this place? It looks like a normal room." Said Blake Belladonna, the introverted cat faunus.

"Yeah, kinda looks like our dorm a little bit. Look Ren! There's even a fridge here! It's full of drinks too!" Exclaimed Nora Valkyrie.

"Don't touch that Nora, we don't even know where we are right now." Lie Ren said.

"There's cookies here though! They're pretty good! I already ate four!" childishly proclaimed Ruby Rose, the red reaper and also cookie monster.

"Ruby! What did Ren just say about touching stuff from here!? Were you even paying attention?! Scolded Weiss Schnee, the ice cold heiress.

"Nope. Cookie was more important." Ruby said. "Ughhhhh, you really get on my nerves sometimes." Said Weiss, very annoyed. Both teams wandered around the strange room for a good ten minutes or so, looking for anything that may help them get a clue about what place they were in.

"Hey guys. Look, I found something here, it sorta looks like a note. I'll read it." said Blake.

 _Hello everybody, I'm sure you're wondering what you are doing here in this room, well, it has to do it your friend, Jaune Arc._

 _T_ hey all gasped, Jaune hadn't been seen or heard of since he got kicked out of Beacon due to his fake transcripts, an ocurrence which deeply saddened them, especially his JNPR teammates. After the initial surprise, Blake resumed reading.

 _Don't worry, he is fine, more than fine if I'd say so myself._ They all softened a bit in relief after hearing that their friend was fine. _I have invited you all here_ to _watch his journey, why? Cause I also found it amazingly entertaining, I figured letting his friends watch his adventure would be a nice compliment to him. To begin watching, just turn on the TV at the center of the room and enjoy, to make your viewing even more pleasurable I have produced and made an entire soundtrack and opening for you guys, peace. -GER_

 _"_ So, fearless leader has been going on adventures huh? I can't wait to see what this is about!" Excitedly said Nora

 _"_ Well, what are we waiting for? Turn on the TV, I wanna see what Vomit Boy's doing!" Exclaimed Yang

They all organized themselves on the two couches that the room held, having enough confidence now to grab their drinks, each one picked one and Ren shortly turned on the TV.

"This thing's kinda old, it looks really different from the ones at beacon." He commented. And with that, the TV began playing.

 **A few shots of Argus, the Mistral city, appear on the screen. The camera pans around and shows the beauty of the port city, before it settles onto the back of a skinny blond haired boy, simply walking through the streets.**

 **"Hey, mister! This is the best deal you're going to find in town!" Said a civilian**

 **"That's exactly what the other guy said..." The other responded**

This earned a few chuckles throughout the teams.

 **"Really? Then I'll give you a tour of the city!"**

 **"Wait, seriously?"**

 **"Hilarious!" A woman said, shortly after a person took her bag without her knowing.**

 **"Huh? Where did my bag go?"**

 **It then shows a shop owner who appeared to be bribing a police officer. The camera moves to the blond boy, giving him a closer look as he walks through an alley, in said place a person was shown selling what appeared to be drugs to a teenager.**

 **"This is all I have right now."**

 **"Then this is all I can give you."**

They were all rightfully disgusted with this.

"Oum, that guy is pure scum, who would even sell drugs to a kid like that." Angrily said Weiss.

"Can't even imagine what that kid must be going through to seek something like that." Added Blake.

"Drugs and gang violence are very big problems in Mistral, it's a tragedy really." Sorrowfully added Pyrrha, the redhead was very familiar with this, Mistral being her home kingdom.

"I wish I coulda been there, would have punched that guy in the face." Yang spoke, clearly irritated.

 **The boy then walked down the rest of the alleyway, at the very end of it leading in to the street some homeless people were laying near a pair of trashcans. It then gave a wide shot of Argus, the narrator explaining its beauty and radiance. The camera came back, it now located itself on the boy's back yet again. A couple of girls approached the boy.**

 **"Pardon us." They said simultaneously. The boy stopped walking and listened. "Do you know how to get to Santa Clara?" They asked, they boy then turned around and his face was finally shown.**

The teams went into shock. How hadn't they been able to see it was Jaune? They were all very happy to see him again. The happier ones even had a few words to say.

"Fearless Leader! He looks so different! What happened to his haircut!?" Screamed Nora with a mixture of Shock and Relief.

"Thank Oum he's okay! I was so worried about him." gleefully said Pyrrha Nikos, this was the boy she was infatuated with after all, it was a massive weight off her heart to see him well.

"And it looks like he's changed his style quite a bit, seriously, what is that haircut." Weiss pointed out.

"Kinda looks like a buncha donuts." Said Ruby, being the sugar monster that she was.

"I kinda like it, it looks like he has some cleavage window on his shirt, Look! His chest's almost all out!" Yang teased

"Is it resembling a heart? Sheesh, what even happened to him." Blake spoke.

 **"To get to Santa Clara, head straight from here, turn left an-**

 **"See, I told you it was over there!**

 **"My bad! Thank you."**

"They just wanted an excuse to speak with him." Blake added.

"Yeah, I mean I would do the same thing too." Yang joked.

 **The girls were about to move on when suddenly a man bumped in to the girl wearing a blue jacket, making her spill her ice cream cone on Jaune's torso. He managed to hold on to her, keeping her by his chest.**

 **"Are you alright?"**

 **"Yes, thank you." She said, blushing. The girl then apologized to the man.**

Pyrrha was a pit peeved at this, thankfully for her no one noticed.

" **Be more careful." The man rudely said. What caught Arc's attention though, was that the man had stolen the woman's wallet, he quickly managed to steal it from the man's coat. He then offered it to the girl.**

 **"Hey! You dropped this." He gave it back to the girl, who thanked him profusely.**

"How nice of him." Pyrrha said, a little proud.

 **"Wasn't that guy super cool?"**

 **"Yeah, I should've asked for a picture".**

"Looks like Jauney is finally getting along with the ladies, good for him, always rooted for the guy." Playfully said Yang.

 **Two butterflies then came out of the girl's purse, this surprised her, but she gave it no thought. The butterflies then flew to Jaune's hand, he caught them and bizarrely they started turning into lien bills.**

 **'You can't trust anybody in this city.' He then walked away.**

"Wait, did Jaune just steal from them?" Ruby asked, to no one in particular.

"Yeah, why did the butterflies start turning into lien though?" Ren questioned.

"Maybe it's his semblance, he might've unlocked it." Pyrrha spoke, a little disappointed in Jaune.

 **The blond boy then walked up to an ice cream parlor, he asked for a chocolate and pistachio cone, noticing that a boy was looking at him in the street, he said:**

 **"Make that two." Then the next scene showed the boy gleefully slurping on his new treat.**

"Awwwwwwwwwww... " Cooed Nora.

"Glad to see he's not changed that much." added Ren.

"Such a Jaune thing to do." Pyrrha said, she then sighed. "I miss him."

 **Jaune was enjoying his ice cream when something off-screen caught his attention, his hair fabulously glittering in the wind, a title card was shown, on it was written Jaune's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind.**

"Wonder what that means." asked Blake.

 **Then it a bullhead station was shown, the same man who tried robbing the girls appeared once again, now talking to an old couple.**

 **"See, it's much faster than waiting in line, I can get you in the city real cheap!"**

 **"Really? How cheap?" Interrupted a stranger before the elderly couple could respond, the man was wearing a brpwn jacket with green details and some plain black pants, his most definimg features were his haircut and.. The shovel he was dragging in the ground.**

"Who even carries around a shovel" Said Ruby, unaware that she brought an oversized farming tool to Vale everytime she went out. "It's not even a cool weapon shovel."

"Maybe it is, we don't know." Answered Blake.

 **"M-Mr. Luca!" The man said fearfully. Luca proceeded to smack the person in the face with said shovel, the impact made him fall on his back.**

 **"I noticed you haven't been paying me the protection fees before doing business?" Luca threatened. "Didn't I tell you to pay the fees you owe me before you start doing business, huh?" "Right?"**

 **"Please! I have a family!" he begged. A lone tear began sprouting in Luca's eye, which he quickly wiped before making an enraged expression and hitting the man on the face with the shovel yet again.**

 **"So you value your family more than your friendship with me? You should value me first! Got it!?" He prepared to hit him again.**

 **"I'm not the only one ignoring you and doing business!" He screamed in desperation, Luca stopped, keen on hearing the person.**

 **"Well, who is? Who is it?"**

 **"I-It's Jaune! Jaune Arc! That kid's been making a fortune lately!"**

 **"Hm, Jaune?" He looked to the other side of the bullhead port. "Well, I'll deal with him later." The screen cut off after the final shovel smash.**

"Well that was grim."

"This guy's pretty dangerous, hope Jaune's gonna be alright."

"You guys really shouldn't worry, fearless leader's not gonna let this guy beat him up like that!"

 **"HEY! You're not allowed to park your car here! Get outta this spot!" Two cops shouted, running after a green car, the door opened and out came Jaune.**

 **"Good Morning!" He exclaimed.**

"Wait, wasn't he motion sick? How's he driving cars now?" Weiss questioned.

"I didn't even know he could drive!" Yang said, surprised.

"Well, it has been a few months since we last saw him, maybe he just got a makeover." Pyrrha added, "And I'm pretty sure there's medicine for motion sickness, he just never took it.

 **A camera shot of the arrival sign was shown, along with the reveal of a familiar face.**

 **"Phew! That flight was so long." Koichi Hirose, the recently graduated hunter yawned. "The air sure is different here, well then... time to get to work."**

"Hey, I know that guy! That's Koichi Hirose, he's a beacon graduate!" Ruby said, apparently very excited. "And it looks like he's going on a mission too!"

"Flying all the way to Mistral for a mission? I suppose it's not that uncommon for a professional hunter." Weiss spoke.

"Yeah! I wonder if we'll get to go to other kingdoms on mission too! THAT WOULD BE SO COOL!" Nora gleefully added.

 **"Who am I looking for again?" He shuffled around a bit with his luggage, then pulled up a picture of Jaune." Hmm, Jaune Arc, that's an unusual name. But first I must get to my hotel, wanna dump my luggage there so I can move around more freely."**

"Why's he looking for Vomit Boy?" Yang questioned.

"Maybe that's the mission headmaster Ozpin gave him." Pyrrha responded, though not quite sure herself.

"That's a weird mission then, does that mean the headmaster was also concerned about him like we were?" Said Ren.

 **Getting out of the port, Koichi heard a few voices.**

 **"Wow! That's amazing!"**

 **"I've never seen anyone shove their entire ear inside their like that!" The cops exclaimed, looking very entertained as Jaune did some sort of magic trick, he was able to shove his entire ear in his earhole, Hirose also watched, amazed by his trick.**

They all had very similar reactions to that.

"Ewwwwwwww."

 **"How gross is that!?"**

 **"I didn't even know that was possible."**

 **"Thank you very much." Jaune gracefully said, the cops said their goodbyes to him, the camera highlighted Arc passing a cigarette box full of Lien to the guard.**

 **"Well, don't attract too much attention doing your job."**

"Huh, I guess he really found another life away from Beacon." Blake commented.

"Just wish it wasn't this one." Pyrrha sorrowfully responded. Seing Jaune do these criminal things broke her heart.

 **Jaune noticed Koichi looking at him, they shared an awkward stare.**

 **"...Looking for a taxi?"**

 **"Ah! N-no, not really."**

 **"I'm just finishing my part time job and about to head home, I'll make it cheap." Jaune offered. "How about 20 Lien to get you into the city?"**

 **"What? That's so expensive!" Koichi exclaimed. "How can I even trust you anyway? I saw you give those cops something on those cigarettes."**

 **"Now, now, you don't need tp worry about any of that, so... how about 2 lien then." Jaune offered again, Koichi eyes lit up for a moment before settling down again in distrust.**

 **"No, thanks, I'll just wait at the taxi pickup." The hunter said, he quickly changed his mind however when he saw the giant line at the taxi pickup station.**

 **"Would you really charge only 2 lien?"**

 **"Yup, you'll have to carry your own luggage though, since I'm not askimg for a tip."**

 **"That's fine."**

 **The next scene showed them in Jaune's taxi, the blonde politely asked Koichi to put his luggage up front, the hunter obliged.**

 **"Just so you know, Even though I haven't got my weapon on me right now, I'm not some dumb tourist, you better get me to the hotel in earnest." Hirose said, he closed the passenger door.**

 **"Yes, I'll get you there in earnest." Jaune said. "Well, I suppose I'll get your empty luggage there instead." He then took off with Koichi's luggage, leaving him behind.**

 **"W-wait, come back!"**

 **"Ciao."**

"Um... I don't think stealing from a hunter is the best idea." Ruby warned.

"Yeah, I don't think Arc knows who he just stole from." Weiss said.

Before any of them could speak more, they were interrupted by the TV.

 **"Echoes, ACT 3!" Koichi called, his hair flaring up a little.**

 **Jaune felt his car get heavier, it eventually stopped moving, its tires digging in to the ground.**

 **"Too bad for you, Didn't I tell you not to understimate me?" Koichi spoke, his voice with a much more different tone then before.**

"Yeah, he tends to do that sometimes." Pyrrha said, familiar with Jaune and his lack of knowledge on important people.

"What a dolt, look what he's gotten himself involved in. A fight with a huntsman, he should've picked his target better." Weiss spoke, clearly irritated with Jaune's actions.

"Yeah, Appearences can be deceiving sometimes." Yang said. "I mean, just look at Ruby, who would even think she can hurt anything, much less become a hutsman." Yang teased.

 **"** HEY! I"ll have you know I can be very threatening when I want to be." Ruby cutely defended herself.

"Yeah, sure Rubes."

 **"You can run if you want to, as long as my luggage is safe, I don't care." Koichi said as he approached the vehicle,a green aura enveloping him, Jaune got out of the car. Smiling politely, he began to run. The cops that he had bribed could be heard laughing in the background.**

 **"Look at that, Jaune actually screwed up for once!"**

 **"That's what he gets for tricking so many people." They shared a laugh. Koichi then suddenly realized something.**

 **"Wait, Jaune? Jaune Arc? It couldn't be." He opened the passenger door, only to find nothing in it but a strange yellow blob. "HUH? Where did my stuff go?" His eyes focused on a yellow blob where the luggage should have been. "What is this? Some kind of egg?" It opened an eye, then started forming into an frog. "Huh!? Is this some kind of stand? I wasn't expecting to meet a stand user the second I stepped into Mistral." The frog jumped on Koichi's hand. He let out a disgusted scream. "No, this isn't a stand! That frog felt real! It was alive! Ahhh! This is horrible, where did my luggage go! How'd he even hide it that fast!"**

 **He crouched down before standing up again. "This is only a hunch, but..." He didn't finish his sentence. He then called out to the cops. "Hey! Do you guys know anything about that taxi driver?"**

"Umm, Ruby, since you're the nerd here, what's a stand?" Nora asked. Ruby then let out an irritated huff

"Don't assume I know about stuff like that! I do, but still!" Ruby scolded.

"A stand is kinda an alternate style of semblance, it's extremely rare though, like I'm talking one in a million. Dad told us about them." Yang explained.

"I knew about those aswell, there were some stand users on the White Fang when I was there." Blake added.

"Me too, a cousin of mine tried obtaining one through some weird arrow, he ended up dying of sickness a few days later." Weiss remembered.

"I've never met one, did hear stories of them though." Pyrrha said.

"Ohh, I remember, Renny and I met some when we were young! I think his name was Josefumi, or was it Josuke?"

"Stands are very rare, the take up a large amount of aura, which causes the user to become defenseless to attacks, it's also very hard to obtain, many people have died trying to get one." Ren explained, although he was right, his knowledge on the subject was still very limited.

 **It focused on Jaune again, who was standing around, he heard something ruffling against the grass behind him, he turned around, only to find Luca.**

 **"Are you Jaune Arc?" Luca asked, Jaune bowed and nodded, the man made a gesture for Arc to follow him, he obliged.**

 **"This is the first time we've met, do you know me, Jaune?" Luca asked, the blonde nodded in affirmation.**

 **"Leaky Eye Luca, I heard that even after someone stabbed a knife deep in your eye, you didn't stop fighting and because of that, even though your wound has already healed, your eye keeps watering." Giorno explained, Luca sat down on a bench, the former beacon student chose to stay standing. Leaky Eye grabbed a tissue to wipe his eye, which was watering.**

They were all surprised at this guy's story.

"Wow, that's pretty hardcore, not even his aura was able to fix it." Yang said, almost in awe. Weiss had a similar story to that, although it was still vastly different, as hers was just a scar.

"These mafia people are all so weird, how do you even manage to get into a fight that bad." Ruby said.

 **"Hey, why don't you have a seat?" Luca offered, Jaune only stared, distrust building up inside him. "Come on, sit down." He said again, a bit more demanding this time. The boy eventually accepted and sat down.**

 **"How old are you?"**

 **"Seventeen."**

 **"SEVENTEEN?! WOW! You're just a kid!" He exclaimed, surprised. "Say, Jaune, there are three "yous" in a friendship."**

 **"The first one is you don't lie."**

 **"The second one is you don't hold a grudge."**

 **"And the third one is, you respect the other."**

"He's not really wrong about that." Ren said. "I doubt he wants to be Jaune's friend though, judging from what he did to that other person."

'Be careful Jaune, please.' Pyrrha thought, she was beginning to worry.

 **"Sounds good? Those are the three "yous" in a friendship."**

 **"... What do you want?" Jaune asked, in a passive agressive manner. Luca grabbed his shovel and put the handle onto Jaune's jaw and chin.**

 **"I'M THE ONE TALKING RIGHT NOW, WHO SAID YOU COULD ASK QUESTIONS, YOU DUMBASS?" He screamed, suddenly enraged. "I HEARD ABOUT YOUR LITTLE JOBS AT THE BULLHEAD PORT, YOU HAVEN'T BEEN PAYING ME THE RESPECT I DESERVE, HOW CAN OUR FRIENDSHIP LAST LIKE THAT?" Luca, who was shoving the shovel's handle into Jaune's chin, said.**

Anger bubbled up inside Pyrrha, she imagined it was the same for her teammates. Team RWBY was also no better, Yang slowly getting more and more pissed off.

"Don't treat fearless leader like that! HOW DARE YOU?!"

 **"Let me peek at your wallet."**

 **"Mr. Luca, I've already paid my protection fees, I don't have any money."**

 **"To the security guards! That has nothing to do with me!" He opened Jaune's wallet, something had caught his eye, the camera revealed what it was, a picture of Team RWBY and JNPR together, hanging out at beacon.**

 **"What is this? Your family?"**

This earned surprised gasps from everyone.

"Our picture! He kept it?" Weiss said.

"He sure did." Blake responded.

"I knew he would still remember us, WE MISS YOU JAUNEY!" Nora said, with tears in her eyes.

Pyrrha's heart beat a little faster, to see that Jaune still remembered them, well...mostly her so fondly also made her eyes water a bit.

 **"Where's** **the money, huh? Come on! Show me!"**

 **...I don't like to repeat myself, I have already told you, I don't have it. Don't make me say it a third time." Jaune said before Luca swung at him with his shovel, aiming for his face. He narrowly dodged.**

 **"YOU LITTLE SHIT!"**

 **A frog was seen coming out of a sewer drain, the same frog that had interacted with Koichi, in fact.**

"Wait, is this guy a civilian? That swing was really amateur stuff." Yang asked. "Even Vomit Boy dodged that instantly."

"Don't underestimate Jaune, Yang. I personally trained him."

"Yeah, sorry P-Money, but still."

"It seems to be that way" Blake added.

 **The frog started climbing onto Jaune, who looked like he didn't even notice. Luca did, though. "What the hell? There's a frog on your clothes, smack it off!" He said, almost sounding like an order.**

" **Why?** **It has nothing to do with this."**

"Because it's a disgusting creature! Why would you want that on your pants?" Weiss said, confused much like everyone in the room.

 **"YOU'RE REALLY GOING TO DISOBEY ME, LEAKY**

 **EYE LUCA, ON THE PROTECTION FEES AND THIS? DO YOU REALLY DARE!?"**

 **"This is a living creature, with a conscience of its own, I could never just smack it off."**

 **"You...you're..." Those were the only words he said as he leaped at Jaune, ready to strike it.**

 **"Don't! It's harmless, unless you do anything with it!"**

 **"YOU'RE FINISHED!" He shouted, smacking the shovel hard into Jaune's abdomen and on the frog.**

"Wait? Why didn't he dodge? That must've hurt like heck!" Ruby said worriedly.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha, also worried, whispered. His friends were very concerned, taking a hit to the chest that hard couldn't be good.

 **There was a pause, almost like as if time had stopped, after a few moments, the frog came back from under the shovel, unharmed.**

"...What?" They said, in unison.

 **Jaune, who was also seemingly unharmed, began talking. "I told you not to, it's not even that loyal to me yet." He muttered darkly.**

"Yet"? Blake said, curiosly.

 **"It has its own life, it's just trying to protect itself." The screen went over to the back of Luca's head, it was caved in, with the shovel's letters engraved onto it.**

"Oh Oum! Look at the back of his head!" Weiss said, exasperated. It wasn't an everyday sight to see a human head be cave in like that.

"How'd he even do that?" Ruby said through her disgust, Yang tried to shield her eyes but the motion was declined.

"Did he finally unlock his semblance?" Pyrrha questioned, also in shock.

"That guy... did Jaune kill him?" Nora asked fearfully.

"No! He would never do that! It was only self defense!" Pyrrha defended.

 **"Any attack on it becomes an attack on oneself, and it's fatal." Jaune coldly said. "I asked you to not make me say the same thing a third time." He grabbed the frog and it turned back into Koichi's luggage. "I hate repeating myself, making me say the same thing over and over again is useless, I hate it because it's useless." he turned around and began walking. "Useless, useless." The screen took on a golden filter and a logo showed up at the bottom.**

"Wait, you guys, this is ability's too weird to be a semblance, did Jaune awaken his stand?" Asked Ruby.

"Didja see that? He turned the frog into luggage, Koichi's luggage!" Yang exclaimed.

"Very strange, the ability to turn things into animals perhaps?" Weiss pointed out.

"Looks like it, all the damage done to said animal also apparently comes back to the attacker." Blake added.

"If that's the case, then this is what Jauney Boy's been needing this entire time!"

"What was up with that rant at the end though, never seen him say that." Said Ren.

"Me neither, it looks like he's changed a lot."

"Wait, you guys! Something's flashing on the screen!" Ruby exclaimed, getting their attention.

"It's a...map of Mistral."

"Huh, okay I guess."

 **After the transition, the camera came back to Koichi, in an unknown cafe, he had a picture of Jaune in his hand. "What? You want me to look for this guy?"**

 **"Yes. I want you to see what he's getting up to, Koichi." Said a rather familiar voice. The camera did a 180 turn, revealing that man to be Ozpin.**

The students were in shock. The headmaster had asked a huntsman to look over Jaune? Why?

"I guess he still cares about Jaune a little bit." Ruby tried to explain.

"This is so weird! Why would headmaster Ozpin do-?" Weiss said, in shock.

 **"Would you do that for me? Koichi?"**

 **"Um-m, of course ."**

 **"Fantastic, all travel expenses will be paid. Think of it as a vacation."**

 **"Uh-huh." He looked at the picture in question. This caused the flashback sequence to end, coming back to the current time. "The address on this picture is posted somewhere around here..." He noticed a person with his briefcase on the ground. He wasn't looking at it at all. "How careless."**

 **"You shouldn't need to worry about that, no one's dumb enough to take it from them." A waiter responded, somewhat randomly.**

 **"I guess this is a nice neighborhood." He looked at some fresh pizza on a table. His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't** **eaten anything since he got here. The waiter also noticed this.**

 **"Would you like to come in for a meal, sir?"**

 **"N-no! I-I'm fine, really." He defused, something else caught his attention though. Three of young female voices could be heard.**

 **"Hey Jauney! Have some tea with me."**

 **"Go with me instead, Jauney."**

 **"No! Go with me! With me."**

 **"You guys are too loud." The boy who was surrounded revealed himself to be Jaune. "I like being alone. Go away." He said, almost trying to shoo them off.**

 **"Okay!" They said in unison. They began to leave. "Goodbye, Jaune!"**

"Jauney boy finally got good with the ladies! So proud of him!"

"I mean, he was training at beacon. I suppose that would make him the mysterious type."

Pyrrha, on the other hand, felt a bit weird, no girl had ever acted like that with him before. Seeing him surrounded by girls like that made her a little jealous.

 **"H-hey! That's-!" Koichi exclaimed, Jaune began counting some money, presumably the money he stole from Koichi. He stepped up to Arc's table and the blonde boy stepped out of his chair in surprise, now standing up. "Hey!, whose money is that!? Is that my money?!"**

 **"You! How'd you know I would be here?!" Jaune questioned in shock.**

 **"Give me back my passport!" He smacked the table. "Where's my luggage!?"**

 **"It hurts me to say this, but they're gone. I sold them off, unfortunately."**

"That's not right of you, Jaune!" Ruby scolded, almost hoping he would hear her through the TV screen.

"Even of you have to steal, you shouldn't sell someone's personal belongings like that!" Weiss continued.

"Jaune, is this really the life you want?" Pyrrha asked, sad. They were all disappointed in him for doing that. "Please know that any life is better than being a criminal."

 **"So stop following me." He attempted to run, a sudden weight on his hand made it smash it on the table. Koichi stood proud, with a spirit behind him. The spirit was a white and green colored being. It was wearing shorts with a letter 3 engraved on it.**

 **"I'n not letting you get away this time!"**

 **'What's with this weight?" Jaune made a sudden realization, his eyes widened.**

 **"Wait...so that wasn't a malfuction last time? Does that mean that he has the same powers as me?"**

 **"What did you just say?"**

 **"It's heavy!" He crashed through the table.**

"He does have a stand!" Blake exclaimed in confirmation.

"Looks like Koichi has one too! LOOK AT IT! IT'S SO COOL!" Ruby said, excited.

"It looks like an alien!" Said Yang.

"I didn't know there were stand users at Beacon." Ren added.

"You guys, do you know what this means?" Pyrrha said, they looked at her in confusion. "That means Ozpin sent Koichi to look for Jaune because he's also a stand user."

Their speculations were soon confirmed by what happened next.

 **"Gold Experience!" Jaune screamed, calling upon his stand. Before his hand had hit the ground, it had already come out. Gold Experience hit the ground beneath him, causing a plant to sprout up. "Bring forth new life!" He disappeared soon after.**

 **"What was that? Echoes ACT 3!" He called. "I saw something!"**

The teams were in awe, their jaws on the floor.

"Jaune's stand...SO COOL! DID YOU GUYS SEE THAT!" Ruby squealed.

"It's name...is Gold Experience?" Said Weiss, confused. "What an odd name for something, shouldn't it be Golden Experience even?"

"Nah Weiss-cream, that sounds kinda perverted." Yang responded. "Just imagine him shouting "I'm gonna give you a Golden Experience!", sound like he's gonna do something else to the enemy, not fight them."

"Yeah, Fearless Leader shoulda chose his names better, just look at the short guy's stand! It's name is Echoes! That sound cool!"

 **Koichi ran over to where Jaune was, only finding a tree branch. "Impossible! I know I saw him here! There's no way he would escape Echoes's range like that!" The tree kept growing, this caught his attention, he looked up and saw Jaune on top of the tree branch, Hirose let out a startled gasp.**

"How did he do that so fast!" Blake exclaimed.

 **"Didn't I tell you to stop coming after me? I'll say it one more time, don't even think about following me. I hate repeating myself, because it's useless, you shouldn't do things that are useless."**

"There he goes again with that speech, I've never heard him say that before." Spoke Ren.

"Must've picked it up after he got expelled." Blake commented.

 **"Knock him down, Echoes!" He ordered. The stand did hit the tree, although the only effect it had was itself smashing into the ground, along with its user, and breaking most of the concrete floor. "WHAT!?"**

"There's that counter ability again, Monty, that thing is powerful." Said Weiss.

"Jaune got lucky with with his power it seems."

"Do you think if we had stands they would also be like that Yang?"

"Didn't Dad tell us that anything can be a stand power Rubes? I don't know, maybe."

"I'm happy he finally has something to rely on." Spoke Pyrrha.

 **"I can tell you held back on me, judging by the fact that you are barely harmed, despite crashing and breaking the floor." Jaune said. "You're a good person." He then left through the rooftops.**

"I mean, yeah. He's a huntsman, he could probably defeat you in 5 seconds Jaune, of course he held back." Ruby commented.

They all agreed with her.

 **"There's no doubt in my mind now!" Koichi said, gettind up from the debris. "This is Jaune Arc! And he's a Stand User!" The camera took on that gold filter again. This time, a stand was shown, Jaune's stand, Gold Experience.**

"What is this?" Ruby asked. "Are these stats?"

"They must be. Read them, Rubes." Yang ordered.

"Gold Experience"

"Stand User: Jaune Arc"

"There's each stat here!" she said. "It has a C in power, an A in speed, an E in range, a D in durability, a C in precision and an A in development potential."

"Ouch, that range is bad. Maybe it can develop in training?" Spoke Yang.

"Yeah, and his development potential is A, that means that these stats can grow." Blake responded.

"It's not really that powerful, is it? Jaune might rely too much on that counter ability, it may cost him." Weiss added.

"It's durability is also low. Making it more vulnerable to attacks. Pyrrha joined in. "He might need to work on this ability, there's a lot of potential in it though. It can defeat pretty much anyone."

 **After the short break, the scene transitioned over to Ozpin's office. His scroll was ringing, presumably from Koichi. He picked it up.**

 **"Hello?"**

 **"Headmaster, this is Koichi! This is a mission update! I've discovered Jaune Arc's location!"**

 **"Already? That was fast. Just what I expected from you, Koichi." Ozpin praised, the young huntsman didn't seem to notice it though.**

 **"Where do I even start? He's alright. But there's something else about him..."**

 **"So he's safe? Wonderful. His friends will be glad to hear that."**

"You bet we are !"

"I don't think he can hear you Nora."

 **"Headmaster...was Jaune Arc always a stand user?"**

 **"Hm? No, he didn't even have aura when he started initiation, has he been struck with the arrow?"**

 **"He didn't even know other stands existed before I met him headmaster. He thought his ability was unique to himself."**

 **"So it's what I've been suspecting. Jaune Arc has developed a stand naturally, that's not something to brush over so easily."**

 **"The people I talked to said that, even though he still goes by Jaune Arc, his family's basically ignoring his existence, he goes to a school in Argus."**

They were saddened about the news from his family.

 **"There must have been a trigger for his stand ability developing. A powerful stand user being near the area for example. You've already seen enough, Koichi. You don't need to look for anything anymore, good work."** **Ozpin praised. "I'l get you to a hotel and wire you some money."**

 **"Thank you, sir. I'm just doing my job."**

"Well, that was quick." Said Ren.

"I wish all jobs could be like that. He even gets to enjoy Mistral too." Yang added.

"He's gonna be enjoying Mistral for a while, seeing as though Arc sold his passport." Spoke Weiss.

 **The scene came back to Jaune, who was now seated at an airbus, looking out the window.**

"Finally got that motion sickness under control I see." Pyrrha said. "I wonder why he never took medicine when he was with us."

 **The blond boy opened his window, allowing some fresh air to come into his lungs. Suddenly, there was a sound of a coin dropping. A person quickly bent over and picked it up. Said person was male, with a bob haircut and a white jacket with several zippers on it. His clothes had pin details on them and his jacket was open at the pectoral area, allowing everyone to see his heart tattoo. Jaune looked on, almost in awe of his appearance.**

"Well...that's quite a fashion statement." Blake said. Meanwhile, somewhere in a place very far away, Coco Adel could be heard sneezing.

"Huh. Are these normal Mistral clothes, Pyrrha?" Ren asked.

"Um, Mistralian people care about fashion a lot, I've never seen it to this extent though." She responded.

 **"Did you drop this?" He asked.**

 **"No."**

 **"I see." He sat on the seat opposite of Jaune. "Guess it's mine now, hehe." Joked the zipper-clad man, Jaune stayed with his poker face. "Let's say...you find a bag of 100 thousand lien inside, would you give it to the authorities?"**

"Yes, of course! What would I even need it for anyway." Weiss said, unaware of the irony behind her words. There was a general agreement that they would give it, though.

"Of course Jaune's gonna say yes." Pyrrha said

 **"No way! I'd probably take it." He laughed.**

"WHAT?"

 **"Hahaha, well, aren't you honest? But what if I was a plainclothes cop and saw you take it?"**

 **"Well, I'd probably keep half and give you half to make you look the other way." Jaune said. This made the man laugh.**

 **"Yeah! You would do that, I can see it in your eyes! You see, I have a way to know when people are lying or not."**

The teams were still in shock with what Jaune said. Did the criminal life really change him that badly? Pyrrha began to feel nervous. What if he started murdering people? Using drugs? This wasn't the Jaune she'd known.

 **"You know how your skin gets shiny when you're sweaty? That usually gives it away. It'd be even better if I could taste your sweat." He licked his lips.**

"And this guy's a weirdo too. Are any of these criminals actually normal people?" Yang ranted.

"Well, I guess there's Jaune." Ruby responded.

"He's the exception."

 **"Who are you?" Jaune asked, the friendly façade beginning to wear thin. The man stood up and did a pose.**

 **"Leaky Eye Luca was found injured at the bullhead port today. It's a rather serious injury, he won't be gaining his consciousness back." He explained. "Jaune Arc, I'm trying to discover who attacked him. The cops said you would have important information."**

 **"Are you one of them?"**

 **"Of course not." He declined. "Luca's not an ordinary crook. He's a gang member. There are plenty reasons why he'd get taken out." He explained even further. "He knew how to get people to hate him. That's not what my boss is thinking about, though. It's why he asked me to track down the person who attacked Luca, and teach him a lesson. That's why I'm asking you right now...did you run into Leaky Eye Luca at the bullhead port?"**

 **"I don't know what you're talking about." Jaune said, a very bold-faced lie. The man bore a hole through the blond's face as he analised every single bit of his facial anatomy, hoping to see any semblance of desperation.**

The cast were feeling tense aswell.

"How's he so calm? I would've been sweating like I've just took on 30 grimm at the same time!" Yang asked.

"Don't ever doubt Fearless Leader! He's best at stuff like this!"

"GAH, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! What happens if Jaune gets discovered? He's gonna have an entire gang of baddies with bad fashion sense after him!" Said Ruby.

Pyrrha was worried beyond belief. No! She had to believe in Jaune, he can get through this!

 **They stayed like that for a few more moments, the airbus made a stop. The man had finally given up, been conviced that Jaune Arc was telling the truth. "Alright, I believe you. This interrogation is over. Thank you for your time, Jaune Arc." With that, he left. Jaune eased up.**

And so did the cast. Sighs of relief could be hear from the room.

 **He felt something on his hand. He opened it up, only to find a human eye. He dropped it immediately.**

"Ewwwwww!"

"When did that get there?!"

"Fearless Leader had an eye in his hand the whole time?"

"But...HOW? We never saw him pick something like that up!" Blke exclaimed.

 **"An eye?! But how?! My hand was clenched the entire time!"**

 **"That's Luca's right eye." The man said, appearing out of nowhere on the window behind the blond. "He's unconscious, so I brought it anyway. He then licked Jaune's cheek, which had been riddled with sweat. "This is the taste of a liar, Jaune Arc!"**

Seven jaws could currently have been found on the floor.

"He actually licked him, I thought he was bluffing!" Blake said, exasperated.

"That looked like something Blakey would get off too!" Yang said, managing to tease her partner even though she was in a state of shock.

"This guy's a total sicko!" Ruby said.

 **"Looks like we have a problem, Jaune Arc. You lied to me." He said, as he entered the bus, Jaune, still taken aback by the whole series of events, could only stare. "And now, I'm going to find out why you lied to me." The man said as he dragged his fingers on the rail above him, he brought them down with force onto Jaune, causing the blond to stagger.**

"JAUNE!" They cried, in worry.

 **"My name is Bruno Bucciarati, answer me." He threatened. "This interrogation has already turned into torture." Jaune felt something trying leave his body after Bruno said those words. He felt it, fingers began to come out of his mouth.**

Weiss had to force herself not to puke, what was this man's deal?

"I can't look! That's so nasty!" Ruby said, bewildered.

"Who even does something like that!" Yang's eyes turned red, in rage and disgust.

"This Bruno person, he's much more dangerous than the other guy!" Blake said.

"Jaune!" That was all that Pyrrha could say, along with her teammates.

 **"To tell you the truth, Luca has already been disposed of by our boss, there was no point in him living anymore." Bucciarati said.**

 **'Shit! It's happened again! Is he also like that tourist?' Jaune thought while Bruno rambled on.**

 **"I could've put a fire extinguisher in your mouth, but you would choke and die instantly." He said, a zipper was beginning to form on Jaune's face, a purple mass was the only inside content of it. "Talk!" He elbowed the blond. "Let's have you say who did Luca in." The zipper was getting bigger, stretching out across his neck.**

"Pull out your stand, Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled, hoping that by some miracle he would hear her.

"Come on! You can do this!" Ruby joined in.

 **'There's no doubt about it! This guy has an ability similar to mine!'**

 **"If you don't tell me what I want to know, then this is only going to get worse, Jaune Arc!" Bruno punched Jaune, a blue arm now in place of his. Jaune flew back and hit the floor of the bus.**

 **'This guy's bad news, I'll have to use Gold Experience to try and dodge his attacks!' He brought out his stand, the last image of the episode was Bruno staring off against Jaune, the screen went gold and an arrow with a 'to be continued' caption flew across the screen. The episode ended.**

"WHAT!?" They screamed in unison.

"It can't end there!" Ruby spoke.

"Ren, hurry up! Load the next one!" Pyrra said, impatient and worried. Ren quickly obliged.

"How's he gonna get outta this? This guy seems crazy dangerous!" Yang commented.

"He has to figure something out, Bruno's ability uses zippers, that's all we know." Blake answered.

"Arc is severely outmached here! He needs some assistance!" Weiss added.

"I believe in him! Come on, Fearless Leader! You can do it!" Nora cheered, despited the nature of the encounter.

The next episode began soon after.

* * *

 **AN: Hey, this was funner then I thought it would be, keep in mind that I wrote this before the new episodes, so you could say this is a slight AU. Watch out for an update soon, the next episode will also include Fighting Gold and Freekn'you and the crew's reaction to it, as you can see, there will be changes in the story to make it fit better in the RWBY universe, such as Ozpin replacing Jotaro and Koichi's goals to find Jaune/Giorno being different. Jaune's backstory will also be shown next episode, I will not change the core idea of the backstory, but there will be many changes to it. This is Kyraptor, good day to you all.**

 **Chapter Status: RETIRED**


	2. Bucciarati's Coming!

**AN: As I'm writing this, chapter one of JBA: GR has been posted, super anxious about it since it's my first story, but I know it's been awhile since you guys have seen it. In this AN I wanted to clarify a few things, even though I'm sure most people that are reading this story are manga readers, I will try not to spoil stuff ahead lf time. Now, I'm not talking big spoilers like the ending, small stuff like the Hitman Team's leader's name and such will be kept secret. I hope you guys enjoy the story. Still looking for a Beta Reader by the way, just send me a PM if you're interested.**

 **Reviews:**

 **darkraizerGx1: Thanks man, this universe's Arc family is a lot different from the canon one. Right now they have put him into a random school and are pretending he doesn't exist. Not necessarily disowned him, but still treating him like crap. Since Giorno lives alone in VA/GW, Jaune will also live alone so I don't think they're gonna show up in the story.**

 **Za Warudo: Thank you, yeah...I realized those stand and semblance comments just after writing the story. I do think the hipocrisy adds another layer to their characters though, since they're criticising him for something they also do and don't realize it, they're still teens after all. Hope you stick around for the next chapters!**

 **reven228: Thanks my man, I've wanted to make this for a long time. All of the RWBY reaction fics are from Stardust Crusaders and it'd be a crime not to do part 5 justice. Also, Jaune×Mista OTP, sorry Pyrrha.**

 **Greer123: Thank you, man. A late happy new year to you too.**

 **CJL20115: Thanks, I don't think that entire DIO situation is gonna play you here. That sub-plot was a Jotaro thing and since Jotaro was replaced I don't think so.**

 **Vacarria: It's the man (or woman) himself! Yeah... I was gonna ask for your blessing to use this writing style but I've been wrapped up in a lot of stuff right now and I ended up forgetting, thanks for the review though.**

 **Kamencolin: Thank you.**

 **Guest: Next chapter's gonna go up faster, I promise. Thank you.**

 _ **OPEN THE GAME!**_

* * *

 **The next episode started playing. Although not right where it left off, instead a series of riffs was heard, with the camera slowly looking up to an ancient mistralian statue, bound by chains. The music started building up, the words Jaune's then Bizarre Adventure flashed on the screen as the guitar reached its peak**.

"Hey! Note man did say he made an opening for us!" Ruby exclaimed, excited.

"How nice of him."

 **A husky male voice began to sing, in an ancient language. Blood was shown dripping out of a hand, Jaune's in fact. Chains came out of his blood and he looked on, with a worried expression. The scene changed to a man running and pointing a revolver at the camera, which then went inside the barrel of the gun, transitioning to a shot of a girl falling, being trapped by chains. As she finally finished falling down, it once again changed to a sand model of a face crashing on the ground. Another man was shown, clutching the sand as it escaped from his grasp. The camera moved a little, showing that he was trapped in a sand clock, on the other side of it was a black silhouette of himself, the sand being replaced by chains. Now a boy was shown, his face was showcased in different angles through the chains each time they passed. This ended when his face was completely black and he turned his back on the camera posing. Another boy's face was now in the screen, he looked at the screen and swiftly got out of sight, his face was mirrored throughout this segment, a black silhouette now replacing it. The singer and the melody were getting more and more intense as the song progressed. Bruno Bucciaratti was the one up next, he walked with a determined look on his face as chains passed through it, his face now all black aswell. They all came back, their faces shown in quick sucession, along with glimpses of their stands. The last shot was Jaune turning one of the chains into a plant.**

The teens were somewhat confused as they watched. They didn't have time to comment as the song hit its climax.

 _ **FIGHTING GOLD!**_

 **The singer screamed as the screen now focused on Jaune, his stand attacking seemingly nothing, the man carrying the gun now took his place, shooting a bullet. Six little minions came out of said object. The attention now drifted over to another person, who managed to stop the bullet in mid-air and reverse it, he disappeared from view as it shifted over to a boy with a miniature plane. It flew around and shot a bit before settling on the boy's shoulder. Now the mirrored man took his place, using the smoke that the plane created to make his own wall of said smoke. It finally ended on Bruno, who turned around before a stand inside of a zipper entered the frame and punched. Then it showed a person crouching, their frame being hidden by the cloak they were wearing, shortly after it zoomed in and the person was revealed to be the girl in the beginning. All their faces were shown again, all looking in the same direction. There was a final shot of them all walking towards the light as the singer let out a final**

 _ **FIGHTING GOLD!**_

 **The final image of the opening was a golden frame of Jaune's face, riddled with ladybug and angel decorations.**

They had a lot of things to say about that.

"Okay, that song was awesome! But I'm still confused about everything." Yang was the first one to say.

"Yeah, what language was that singer even singing anyway? And what does Fighting Gold mean?" Blake questioned.

"Maybe Jaune fights a bunch of gold monsters!" Ruby said, childishly.

"I don't think that's gonna happen, Rubes."

"Those guys all had stands, I couldn't see them right though, it just passed by too fast." Ren joined in.

"Who were those people with Fearless Leader? Don't tell me...HE FINDS FRIENDS THAT AREN'T US? WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!" Nora wailed, hugging Ren in the process.

"Stay calm Nora, that Bruno person that Jaune is fighting right now was there, maybe it's just something else." Pyrrha explained.

 **The episode started off with a shot of Jaune, posing against a wall, as the narrator described his life.**

 **'Jaune Arc. Son of eight children, the only male child of the family.'**

"Hey! Jaune's past, he never told us this!" Nora said, now having recovered.

"This really isn't the best time, I wanted to see what happened to him in the bus!" Pyrra responded.

 **'His father and mother, although very caring in nature, weren't the best parents to him, they would often leave him alone in the house to buy things for his sisters and go out with them. Sometimes, Jaune would wake up in the middle of the night, his family nowhere to be seen, and the only thing he would do is tremble alone in the dark mistralian house.'**

They felt bad about this. How could you treat your child so poorly?

 **'His parents showed clear favoritism to his sisters, as they showed potential to grow up and become great huntsmen one day, a trait that only he didn't possess. This left Jaune with a nature that thought he was inferior to everyone, causing him to be the local target of the kids he studied with.' Then it showed a very young Jaune, being attacked and harassed by other kids, pushing him, beating him up and causing him various forms of harm. 'Due to his nature, he never told anyone in his family about the abuse he was receiving. He started to believe he was the worst scum on Remnant, a path that would lead him to be just like the rest of the twisted people in Mistral.'**

Pyrrha now understood. This is why he ran away to Vale. To get out of all this.

"This is just like him with Cardin earlier the semester." Ren said sadly. "Looks like the "I'm worse than you" attitude never truly left."

"The difference with the Cardin case was that Pyrrha was there to protect him." Weiss pointed out.

"He always said this on our training sessions. He said that he wouldn't ever be able to catch up."

 **'But, a certain incident that happened in his life would take Jaune away from this fate.'**

"At least something good happened to him."

 **A pool of blood was going down the street, this took the attention of Jaune. He looked in the street and saw a wounded man, laying on the ground. He then heard various voices coming from the alley beside him.**

 **"Dammit! Don't let him get away!"**

 **"Where did he go!?" The men searched, they then walked up to Jaune, the narrator once again started talking.**

 **'The men were looking for the wounded person, and to Jaune, it didn't look like they had good intentions. They asked the boy if he had seen a hurt man running around.'**

 **"Yes, he went that way." He pointed to the opposite direction to where the man was, the men all ran over to the direction that he gave them.**

 **'And Jaune lied. He felt no fear, he just felt that the man in the grass was hurt and lonely, just like him. Thankfully, the grass around the man started growing, hiding him even more. That was due to Jaune's Gold Experience ability, which he had been using subconsciously.'**

"Incredible, saved a person's life at four years old." Weiss praised.

"That'll show his parents! They have to treat him better now!"

"He probably never spoke of this again Nora."

"His ability was already active when he was four? Didn't he just unlock his aura in initiation? How?" Blake questioned.

"Stands are a manifestation of one's life force. This means that if you're born with one, they'll always be there, they're only able to manifest and get stronger when you unlock your aura though. That's why it didn't fully show up." Ren explained. "The traumatic event of getting expelled was what probably released it entirely."

"I suppose that makes sense."

 **'Around two months later, Jaune and the man came face to face.' Jaune was walking down a rainy street, the man interrupted his step, making him stop right in front of the stranger.**

 **"I'll never forget what you did for me. Thank you." He said, he then left Jaune alone.**

 **'After that encounter, Jaune's parents started treating him better, the kids that formerly bullied him now offered him seats at the cinema, ice cream parlors would give him free ice cream everytime he visited one. The man he had once saved was always there, silently watching him in gratitude.'**

"I guess Vomit Boy saved someone important." Yang commented.

"He saved a huntsman! There's no other person with this much influence on others." Ruby said, excited as always.

 **'The man was a gangster.'**

"WHAT?!"

 **'As the man silently watched him, Jaune learned how to trust people, a trait which his parents should've taught him, from a stranger. This man was the first person who had treated him with complete respect, like a human being.'**

"I guess good criminals still exist after all, I've yet to meet one though." Weiss said.

 **The next scene showed Jaune walking around in the streets, a gunshot was heard near him, causing a mass panic, the public began to run off. Jaune was about to follow the same path, until he saw who was at the gate. It was the man who had done everything for him, the man he trusted. He ran over to where he was and tried to speak to him. The gangster ignored Jaune.**

 **'Although he acted somewhat cruelly, he ignored Jaune for a reason, he was desperate not to drag him to the world of gangsters.' Then, just as he was about to leave, a kid holding a gun pushed Jaune aside and pointed it at the man, accusing him of having killed his father.**

 **"Why did you do it?! Tell me!" The kid demanded.**

 **"Your father was scum. He invaded my turf by selling drugs, he even sold them to women and children. That's why I killed him."**

"That doesn't give you the excuse to kill him!" Yang said, eyes red. That had hit a soft spot for her.

"I take back what I said." Spoke Weiss.

Ruby was also no better, she grew up with just a father. Seeing one get killed like that broke her heart.

 **The boy tried shooting, but the gun wouldn't budge. He fell to his knees, tears falling down from his eyes. "Dammit, you're scum too!"**

 **'Jaune didn't think the man was scum in the least. Bizarrely, the gangs that broke the law and comitted crimes were what straightened out Jaune's heart. His first idea was to become a huntsman, but that had failed. After running away from home and getting kicked out of Beacon, Jaune had finally found his reason to live. After his first dream had been crushed, rather than becoming a huntsman, he was going to become a GANGSTAR.' Jaune was shown growing up, in the final shot he struck a pose, crouching down and revealing his chest.**

"Man, why did he never tell us about any of this?" Ruby questioned. "We're his friends, he should've at least mentioned it."

"It's because he didn't feel it was important. You know how he is." Pyrrha said, a serious tone on her voice. She could see why he took the criminal life after Beacon, it was his only choice. "I don't agree with any of it, but...if it's the only thing that he can do right now, then I suppose there's no problem to it." She spoke, a tone of wisdom on her voice.

"Hey! Look on the bright side, at least he got a cool power. A thing that, I think we can all agree, Fearless Leader needed a lot."

 **The last seconds of the first episode was repeated, Bruno had** **licked Jaune then launched him to the other side of the bus.**

 **"Does your head feel wobbly? Like it's about to fall off? Though I'm sure you have no idea of what's going one."**

 **'My body has a zipper?'**

 **"Jaune Arc, If I wanted to, I could roll your head around like a ball while I ask you who did Leaky Eye Luca in."**

 **'I don't think I'll be able to withstand another attack. He'll tear me apart. I only noticed this ability a few months ago. Gold Experience has the ability to give life to objects, I don't know what'll happen if I attack a human being with it.' Jaune contemplated as he squared up and approached Bucciarati.**

"You should at least try it! Any damage is better than no damage." Said Ruby.

"Yeah, and besides it's not like you have any other choice." Agreed Blake.

 **"Answer me, Jaune Arc!" He screamed. Jaune, with a** **determined** **look on his eye, countered. Hitting Bruno's arm in the process.**

 **'I have to do it! There's no other choice!'**

 **"MUDA!" The stand screamed. Bucciarati looked on, a shocked expression on his face.**

 **"What? Y-you're...a stand user! So you could see my ability!"**

 **"What's a stand user?"**

 **"So it was you who attacked Luca!" He tried attacking again, only for Gold Experience to counter and hit him with a big punch to the chest, sending him all the way across the bus.**

"Nice shot, big guy."

"Yes! C'mon Jaune! I told you it was worth a try!"

"Looks like that C in power might be deceiving." Blake commented.

"Stands that have A in power could probably bend steel or something." Weiss responded.

"I have a feeling it's not over yet. Keep your head up, Jaune! That was just a hit." Pyrrha warned. "Although it was a big hit."

 **Bruno had a pained expression on his face as he fell down. He layed on the floor for a couple of moments. Jaune had an insecure look as he approached him. Bucciarati's fingers suddenly twitched, this made Jaune stop. 'Didn't Gold Experience hit him dead on? That should've broken at least a bone or two.'**

"I don't think your stuff's that good yet, Jauney. That might've hurt him a bit, but break a bone? I doubt it."

 **The lighting began to change, the world suddenly becoming light blue. Bruno began to get up, although still very winded. 'You bastard...' He grabbed on to a metal handle for support and ended up crushing it, to his surprise. 'What did you do to me? You bastard!' He tried getting up, only to launch himself up in the air, to his surprise once again.**

The teams were also in shock as well.

"Did he..." Ren began, but never finished. "No...he couldn't have."

 **'What? I was just trying to stand, but I suddenly launched myself up. My body...it's overflowing with power! I feel power running through my veins!' He saw GE try to attack him, only it was dreadfully slow, he managed to dodge it flawlessly, running circles around the blond. 'What? This power...could it have been gifted to me through your stand ability? Hah! What a fool! What kind of stand ability is it to give other people power!?'**

"Well then...this is awkward."

"I mean...he could still find a way to use that counter ability on him."

"I don't think that's going to be the case right now, Nora."

"Jaune's gonna get hit! He has to do something!" Pyrrha said worriedly.

"Bruno's moving in superspeed Pyrrha. It's like he's constantly using Ruby's semblance." Weiss responded. "I'm sorry, but Arc's just gonna have to take the hit." The rest of the team agreed with Weiss's statement, Pyrrha began to panic.

"No! He can't! Did you see what one hit of that thing did to him?! It's going to kill him!"

"There's nothing he can do right now, but he can still win this! I believe in you, Fearless Leader! Take the hit and get up and kick this guy's zippered butt!"

 **"TAKE THIS, JAUNE ARC!" Bruno screamed and swung.**

RWBY AND NPR braced for impact. But it never came.

"What?"

 **Bucciarati had punched Jaune, but, instead of connecting with Arc's face, it had fazed through it. Bruno's whole body also did the same thing. He turned around, and saw himself. 'What? That's me? But I'm right here.'**

Confusion was the main emotion in the teens's heads right now, although a bit of relief could also be found.

"But, I don't understand, what's he doing? Why is there two of him? Why's the other one not moving?" Blake asked, mirroring his partners and friends's thoughts.

 **Bruno noticed a few details aswell, the handle that he had previously grabbed had not been bent. It was still in pristine condition. 'Did I misunderstand what's going on? Wait...if my original body is still there, then my consciousness must've jumped out.' He saw GE, in the process of punching him. 'Shit! I have to dodge!' He ran back to where his original body was, but it was too late.**

 **Gold Experience had punched him, hard. His spirit had now come back into his body, the punch still happening.**

 **'I-it hurts! A very sharp pain is gradually hitting me!' GE's fist was still in Bruno's face, now ripping out a tooth. 'It's not that Jaune gave me power, it's because my consciousness went berserk!'**

 **"MUDA!" GE screamed. He had finally finished the punch, launching Bruno a couple of feet back. The lighting had returned to normal.**

 **"GAHHHH" Bucciarati screamed in pain. He fell to the ground, a small pool of blood in his mouth.**

 **"It appears that, once Gold Experience hits a living being, he can give it extra life. This means that they go berserk, well...their senses do. I don't know why I have this ability, but I'll definitely be taking advantage of it." The zipper on his face had gone off, he now posed with GE. He was crouching down, allowing Jaune to put his hands around him. The screen went gold and it came back to the coin screen, showing an unknown stand, belonging to Bruno Bucciarati.**

"OK, OK, OK . Time out. First things first, nice pose Jaune. Secondly, WHAT?" Yang exclaimed. "That's insane! It makes him nearly unbeatable! All he has to do is get one hit in and you're done!"

"What a powerful ability, that C in power really was deceiving." Blake said, in awe.

"Man, Jaune sure got an upgrade, if a traumatic event was all that was needed to unlock this power then maybe I should've had him snoop around in Yang's underwear drawer. Then I would've told her." Ruby said, earning a glare from her sister.

"He would be traumatised Rubes, but also dead so it wouldn't matter. Jaune's not the kind of person to do that anyways."

"Back to the point. Wow, what a stand he has! That thing is monstrous!" Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, now that's an ability you can rely on, it can beat pretty much anything." Weiss responded. "Imagine if he had that while in Beacon, his spar record would skyrocket."

"Hey, guys! Another one of those cards! This one's blacked out though, it belongs to Bruno Buccia-? How do you say this, Pyrrha?"

"Bucciarati."

"Right! This one belongs to Bruno Bucciarati, it's still undiscovered."

 **The screen came back, Jaune was speaking to a civilian, reassuring him that they wouldn't get involved, Bruno had finally gotten up again. Coughing and groaning in pain. 'So, this is Jaune Arc's stand? He doesn't seem to know what they are.'**

 **"It appears that both our ranges are only a few meters."**

 **"And here I thought you were just some stupid kid that wasn't affiliated with any organization. Jaune Arc! My boss wants to know why you attacked Leaky Eye Luca!"**

 **"You wouldn't believe me if I told you it was an accident, would you? It seems you came here to dispose of me. But you still couldn't rule out the possibility that you were the one that was going to be disposed of, am I right?" Jaune said, a cold look in his eye.**

"I don't like that look on his face." Pyrrha said. "Looks like Jaune got a lot more merciless after Beacon."

"In this world, you have to be." Blake responded. "While I also don't like it, you have an excuse, if you let a person live they'll tell their whole gang about it."

 **'He's serious! He's going to kill me! He's intense enough tp actually mean what he says!' Jaune was gearing up for one more punch, but Bruno was having none of that. He brought out his stand, finally revealing it.**

 **"Sticky Fingers!" As soon as he called upon it's name, the stand had come out, it was a blue and white being, full of zippers in every direction, its eyes were blocked by a mask and it had a giant zipper coming from its crotch. He countered GE's punch, lauching him back a bit, right to Jaune's side.**

The teams, excluding Ruby, blushed at Bucciarati's stand name.

"Sticky Fingers? That sounds so dirty! What does that have to do with zippers?" Blake said, still blushing.

"Maybe it's just an allegory to what Bruno does with the ladies." Yang teased.

"What a barbaric name, how do these people name their powers so weirdly?" Weiss added. "What goes over your mind that you would name your rare special power that way?"

"Yeah! Name it like Zipper Man or something!"

"That sounds even lamer, Nora."

Pyrrha just blushed, she didn't have anything to say. Neither did Ruby, she was gushing about how cool his stand was.

 **"So that's his stand, huh?" Jaune prepared GE once again, the stand went for the attack, SF was ready and dodged. The two squared up, going into a little boxing match. The shots were all very close, but it was clear that Bruno had the upper hand. GE backed away and then punched, only to be easily caught by SF. Jaune and Bruno both realized something.**

"Sticky *ugh* Fingers is clearly the superior stand in terms of power." Weiss pointed out.

"He hit him a couple of times there, shouldn't that have activated the Gold Experience effect?" Pyrrha asked.

"I think you have to hit the actual human being for it to work, Pyrrha." Ren answered.

"I guess this means Jaune has a weakness to long range people." Ruby joined in. "Cause his range's not that good either, he'll be defeated pretty easily without a plan."

 **"Now that I know that my Sticky Fingers** ," The six teens winced at the usage of the bizarre name. **"is more powerful than your stand, I've had my fill of dealing with your bullshit ability today. The boss didn't say I needed to bring back the suspect alive. I'll just take care of you another day. I'm leaving." He put a giant zipper on the ground, it then opened and showed the ground, Bruno dived into the zipper, getting out of the bus. Jaune's face took on a panicked look.**

"He can even pass through a wall by putting a zipper on it?" Said Ren. "What a versatile ability that is."

"No! He can't let Bruno get away! Go after him, Jaune!" Pyrrha said. "He knows about Jaune's ability! They'll go after him 24/7!"

 **Jaune realized the consequences of letting the gangster get away aswell. He doved through the window of the airbus, landing on his knees. He caught up with Bucciarati and began chasing him through the streets of Argus. Once they entered a sketchy-looking alley, Bruno stopped running and faced Jaune, a smug look on his face. Unsure of what to do, Jaune made a stop too. Bucciarati dove onto a crowd of civilians that were also in the alleyway, bringing them all down. He then disappeared, in an instant. Jaune got even more panicked, he checked the street after the alley and there were no signs of Bruno anywhere. 'Unbelievable! It took him just a moment to disappear! Wait...does that mean he can enter people with his zipper? That's the only thing I can think of. That must be how he got an eye in my hand, or fingers in my mouth. He must be wearing one of the people he dove into like a costume until he goes back to the city.'**

"That does make sense, how's he going to find him though?" Weiss questioned.

"Well, he can just beat up everyone there!" Nora offered, earning some exasperated looks from the rest of the teens.

"That's the worst idea ever, Nora! What if he gets arrested?"

"Well? Is there any other alternative?"

"He can...um, help me out here, girls!" Ruby said, team RWBY were silent for a moment.

"I have no idea, Rubes."

"Me too."

"I just don't see how Arc can get out of this without getting the police called on him." Weiss said. Nora had a smug smile on her face.

"See?"

 **The civilians Bruno had bumped into had all gone in different directions, no zippers could be seen on any of them. 'Which one is it? Which one could he be hiding in?!'**

 **A fly was now buzzing around, it went on the shoulder of an overweight kid who looked to be between the ages of thirteen and fourteen. He noticed it and tried smacking it off, only for the fly to dodge it. He tried killing it again, to no avail. He began to lose his patience. "What's your problem, you stupid fly!?" He finally hit the insect. His satisfaction was shortlived though, as he felt a sharp pain on his back, then fell to his knees. A zipper was shown soon after, Bucciarati's body came out of the kid. The fly now began to show its true form, it was a tooth.**

 **"A tooth?" Bruno questioned, getting up from his "costume".**

 **"I used Gold Experience's ability on a tooth that I knocked out when I punched you, I had it be reborn as a fly. Since it was your tooth, the fly would come back to you." Jaune answered.**

"That's brilliant! Well done, Jaune!" Pyrrha congratulated, almost squealing.

"Now all that's left is to kick this guy's butt! C'mon Jauney!" Yang cheered.

"What's gonna happen to the kid? Is he gonna be okay?" Ren asked?

"I don't think so. That was a pretty nasty hit." Weiss responded.

 **"But still...this isn't good. I just got done saying we wouldn't involve any civilians, I guess that was a lie. My bad." The boy in question layed on the ground, shaking in an almost convulsing manner. A giant hole with a zipper on it could be found on his back, within the space was the same purple dimension from before.**

"Poor kid, he must be in a lot of pain." Ruby said, a bit saddened.

 **"Jaune Arc, I can see your ability is not to be underestimated. It seems dangerous, but it looks like I'll have to take care of you right now." Bruno wiped the blood on his lips. They faced off yet again.**

 **"I can't let you get away. I'm pretty determined about that."**

 **"Let me escape? You won't have to worry about that. What you will have to worry about though, is what you'll do when your body parts have all been zipped apart all over the ground." He threatened. "This battle will be decided by who hits the other first." He stuck his arm in front of Arc's face, almost inviting him to attack it. They shared a moment of silence.**

"His arm is right there! Come on, Jaune!" Yang said.

"I have a bad feeling about this. He's almost offering it." Blake added.

"Me too, Bruno knows about Jaune's stand, he wouldn't do something like that unless he was planning something." Weiss responded.

"Yeah, this Bucciarati person seems to know how to fight." Pyrrha also commented. "I'm sure Jaune's got something up his sleeve."

 **"What's the matter, Jaune Arc? Attack me!" He taunted. The blond boy obliged, bringing out his stand. He was suspiscious of Bucciarati aswell, deciding to attack Bruno's other arm. The punches quickly got deflected by SF and it countered with a karate chop of its own. The chop didn't land however, GE dodged and hit the arm that Bruno had stretched out originally. This caused the same effect to happen.**

 **"Just your senses will go berserk." Jaune said, thinking he had already won.**

"Yes! He did it!" Ruby cheered. Her peers didn't share the same sentiment as her, they were still suspiscious.

 **Gold Experience went in for the kill, thinking Bruno's movements were halted. It was met with a punch to the gut, much to the surprise of both the boy and his stand. Bucciarati carried Arc's stand in his fist and ran towards the boy, who was currently still processing the hit. He ravaged him with strikes, this caused zippers to grow on his entire body. Jaune fell down to the ground, zippers on both his shoulders preventing him from getting up.**

"Jaune!" His friends exclaimed, in worry.

"He hit him first, so how?" Ruby questioned.

 **" "I hit him first, so how?" Is what you're probably thinking now, Jaune Arc. Well...the truth is, this isn't my arm," He removed part of his jacket, showing his left shoulder, his arm and a part of his chest. "My Sticky Fingers has the ability to connect two things together." He revealed his arm, it had a zipper going through it. "I switched out my arm with that kid's."**

"So that's what he was doing."

"Darn it, this guy's clever." Said Ruby. "He figured out a counter to Jaune's stand in that short time."

 **"I'd rather avoid the danger of being hit with that ability of yours, of course." He unzipped the arm and it fell to the ground. "That's why your Gold Experience didn't work." Bruno said, he noticed something on the boy's arm, his expression changed a bit. Jaune also took notice of the change in the man's expression.**

"Oh no! What's he gonna do?" Nora asked, very worried.

"He's basically stuck, there's no option left." Blake said, the teens were getting extremely worried. How could their friend get out of this?

"I mean...there has to be a way right? Jauney is a tactical genius, he must have something." Hopefully said Yang.

He did find a way.

 **Jaune grabbed his arm, he began pulling it, partially releasing it from the zipper. Blood poured on the ground, Bruno still hadn't caught on. He looked on curiously. "What are you trying to do? Jaune Arc!" Said the man as he lunged forward, preparing for the kill. He stopped when he noticed Jaune's true intention, he had ripped his own arm off. Screaming in pain, Arc launched his now ripped off arm forward and it hit Bucciarati right in the face.**

They were in shock. Jaune...their friend and teammate, the person who didn't even have any training before Beacon had just ripped his own arm off to get an advantage in a fight.

"Unbelievable, he pulled out his own arm to extend his range a bit further and strike a moment faster..." Ren began, still in awe.

"FEARLESS LEADER! I KNEW YOU WERE ALWAYS THE BEST!" Nora now screamed.

"Jaune...you're so cool!" Pyrrha squealed.

'See! I told you guys, Vomit Boy's got some good stuff in his noggin." Yang said.

"I guess when both people in a fight have unorthodox powers, the smartest one wins." Blake commented. "And Jaune most definitely outsmarted Bruno this time."

"The resolve required to perform such a feat are not to be underestimated aswell." Weiss added. "Most people can't work up the courage to do something like that."

"Yeah! You go, Jaune! Is his arm gonna be okay though?"

 **"GOLD EXPERIENCE!" The same effect started yet again. Bruno staggered back a bit after receiving the attack, this time he realized what was going on.**

 **"Shit! It's happening again! Just my senses have gone berserk! H-He's going to get me!" Bruno screamed, to nobody in particular. "Jaune Arc's destructive power isn't too great, but that makes it even more dangerous!" Jaune walked up to Bruno, slowly. Bucciarati was stuck, there was nothing he could do. Slow step after slow step, Arc was getting closer. He reattached his arm to its socket.**

The atmosphere was also building up in the strange room. Jaune had won this, it was clear. What was he going to do, though? The question went through the minds of the young adults. Silence took over the room as they watched.

 **"If I feel that slow agonizing pain, multiple times...I think I'd probably die from the shock!" Their faces were inches apart, time had seem to stop as they stared each other down, although for one of them not because he wanted to.**

"If he kicks his ass here, then the guy's just gonna die!" Yang said, honestly seeming a bit frustrated.

"Arc's already won. He just has to choose what fate to give his enemy."

"Punch him in the face, Fearless Leader! But only once! If he gets up, do it again!"

 **Bucciarati's fate seemed inevitable. "Stop it!" He tried to proclaim, no word had come out. "STOP IT!" The camera flashed between Jaune's fist and Bruno's face. He let out a desperate yelp and braced himself.**

They did the same thing. This was gonna hurt. But it never came.

 **Jaune walked past Bruno, breaking the effect of his stand and of Bucciarati's SF. The man clad in white turned around in surprise.**

 **"Wait? What are you doing, Jaune Arc? Why aren't you attacking me? Why didn't you finish me off!?" He exclaimed. The blond analyzed his question for a few moments.**

"Yeah, he was just trying to kill you thirty seconds ago! What gives?"

 **"Because you're a good person." He finally answered. "You're in a gang, but you're still a good person. You hesitated a bit before attacking me, so I decided that I wouldn't attack you aswell." Bruno's look of shock persisted. "When you saw the arm that you took from the kid, you were shocked to see the state it was in, and stopped attacking for a moment. You were shocked to see that this kid had been shooting up drugs." The teen's arm now fully shown, it was purple in a certain place, indicating that a syringe had been used on it.**

"What a shame, honestly." Pyrrha commented. "He looks young. I can't believe the state that my people are in. It breaks my heart."

"Yeah, when I was part of them, drugs were an occasional problem in the White Fang, it's very sad."

 **"How old is he? Let's see." Jaune grabbed the kid's wallet. "Thirteen."**

"Thirteen?! That's younger than me!" Ruby said.

"Poor kid, his life's ruined already." Pyrrha talked, feelimg even worse.

"Imagine what you have to go through to seek something like that at age thirteen." Blake added. The rest of the students didn't have comments, they simply felt bad for the boy.

 **"If you were just a gangster who didn't care about anything," Jaune began again. "I would've probably been rolling on the ground in pieces by now."**

"That's a fair point, Bucciarati could've killed him before he ripped his arm off if he hadn't hesitated." Ren said.

"He felt something for the boy that had been using drugs." Pyrrha joined in. "That's why."

 **Jaune walked over to the a railing, overlooking a beatiful view of the city. "There are people in this city that would sell drugs to kids. They're unforgivable. That's what you believe." Bruno zipped his jacket back on and continued listening. "But the person selling said drugs is your boss. You can't help but feel conflicted about that. That's why your heart ached when you saw his arm."**

 **"So what? That has nothing to do with me eliminating you. I've been ordered to find who took out Luca and to kill them. Just because you stopped attacking me doesn't mean I'm not gonna kill you."**

 **"No. You're not gonna kill me anymore."**

 **"Huh?"**

 **"You won't kill me. I know it."**

 **"Why do you say that?"**

 **"Because you're going to join me."Jaune said, Bruno's eyes widened in shock.**

"See?! I knew he was gonna find another team! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS, FEARLESS LEADER?!" Nora said.

"His life doesn't revolve around us, Nora." Ren responded. "He's not even our leader anymore."

"He still is, Renny! At least in my heart!"

"Looks like Jauney's forming his own team again."

"They must be the people from the opening."

"Do you think they're gonna have cool powers aswell?! AHH! I'm so excited!"

 **"I plan on defeating your boss and taking over the city." Jaune explained.**

 **"What?"**

 **"In order to get rid of the gangs that sell drugs to children, I'm going to have to become a gangster myself." He walked over to the railing, laying his arm on it for support.**

 **"Are you saying...that you're going to join our organization? Are you serious!? Do you even know what that means?!"**

 **"Yes! If I'm going to take over this organizatiom, then I'll have to work my way up the ranks. Bucciarati, I'm going to become a Gang-Star!" Jaune proclaimed, now sitting on the railing. The "to be continued" arrow hit again and the screen went gold. The episode ended.**

"Heh, Gang-Star. That's a good one, Vomit Boy."

"I believe in him! Jaune's gonna become the most powerful gangster in remnant! Then he's gonna come back to being a huntsman."

"He plans to take over this gang from the inside, and destroy its drug sections, that's a pretty honorable motive, if I have to say so myself." Weiss commented.

"What are some famous Mistralian gangs, Pyrrha?" Ren asked.

"Well...I'm not the biggest expert, the most well-known one is Passione, they're infamous in the Mistral drug trade. All of their members are said to be stand users, which makes them stand out amongst the rest, no pun intended." Pyrrha responded.

"I know them, they've crossed paths with the White Fang a few times."

"Can Jaune really pull this off, though? If we're assuming this is Passione we're talking about."

"I suppose for now, all we can do is speculate. Ren, put the next episode on.

He obliged, the new episode started.

* * *

 **AN: And that's chapter 2! Now, I know I said Freekn'you was gonna make an appearance, but that ED spoils a lot of what the crew's stands look like. Well, so does Fighting Gold, but those are only a few frames. Expect to first see it around episode 5 or episode 12 max. Now that that's out of the way, I really liked how this one turned out, I think it's much better than chapter 1. I hope you guys are fine with me changing Jaune's backstory a bit. This is an AU, of course. Polpo shenanigans are up next! This is Kyraptor, signing off.**

 **Chapter Status: RETIRED**


	3. Meet The Gangster Behind The Wall!

**AN: Hey guys! Kyraptor here. Been a while, huh? Don't have too much to say this time, I'm just very happy with the reception this story has gotten, you've all been too good to me. Thank you. This chapter was co-written with the amazing Guikoi, check out his stories, he's a fantastic author. Expect to see more of him.**

 **Reviews:**

 **darkraizerGx1: Nah, I don't think so. Ozpin's playing Jotaro's role and I don't think Glynda will be too happy to see Jaune murdering people.**

 **LoamyCoffee: Thank you, please stick around, it'll get even better!**

 **reven228: Thank you once again. Yeah, pretty excited for that aswell, just have to get this stuff underway first lol.**

 **Za Warudo(Guest): Thank you, it's only my job as a writer on this site to take criticism and learn from it after all. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Guest: You and me both, can't wait to write those scenes, thanks.**

 **Kamencolin: Well, this is an AU, so you can say that Jaune traded his natural huntsman talent for a stand when he was born, not willingly of course. This story mixes JoJo and RWBY together, so I thought it would fit Jaune/Giorno's backstory pretty well. Hope you stick around for the rest! Really appreciate the criticism.**

 **Greer123: Thank you, really heartwarming to see stuff like this.**

 **KRKing: Would you believe me if I said that I completely forgot about that part? I'll make sure to include the OSTs now, promise. Thanks for pointing it out to me.**

 **Jss2141: Okay! Here you go.**

 **Guest (The one that asked about Polpo): Well, he's here. Hope you enjoy it.**

 _ **OPEN THE GAME!**_

* * *

Episode three started playing.

 **A soccer/foot ball went up in the air, a group of kids were playing. Bucciarati and Jaune located themselves in the background, the coversation between Bruno and Arc from episode two was repeated. After Jaune had said that he wanted to become a Gang-Star, one of the kids accidentally kicked the ball into Bruno's back. The kids looked terrified, that was until Bucciarati kicked it back to them. They thanked him profusely, this did not go unnoticed by Jaune.**

 **"Fine. I'll report back saying I couldn't find the one who attacked Luca and introduce you so you can join the organization." He said. "However, if they find out about your plan of taking down the boss, I'm not going to save you. Traitors can't be saved. You will have to deal with your own failure." Jaune tensed up as Bucciarati said those words. Prefering to stay silent, he let Bruno continue. The man in white leaned on the railing beside the blond.**

 **"I guess I'll wager on that golden dream of yours, the honorable, golden resolve it took to go so far as to rip your own arm off, Jaune Arc." The opening started playing.**

"This Bruno person doesn't seem so bad, actually," Weiss began. "He seems like a good person, for a gangster."

"Yeah, I think Jaune saw that as well." Pyrrha responded.

"Plus, he's pretty handsome too, if you ignore the stupid haircut." Yang added half-jokingly.

"His stand's real cool! It's like a zipper man! You can zip people up and stuff!" Spoke Ruby.

"Super weird name, though. Kinda perverted." Blake said.

 _ **Fighting Gold!**_

 **The intro finished, Bruno and Jaune walked around the city.**

 **"Our organization oversees almost all of the movement in Argus." There were a few shots of different things, a seagull, a woman drinking wine and a group of men talking. "Passione. That's the name of our organization."**

"I suppose my guess was right," Pyrrha commented. "This is such a dangerous gang though. Please be okay, Jaune." She said, worried about the boy she was in love with.

"Don't worry, Pyrrha! Fearless Leader's gonna be fine. It's him, remember? He always has a plan."

"I guess you're right, Nora. I just have to believe." She sighed.

 **"Passione means "passion". It's not related to the boss's name," He explained. "No one knows the boss's name, or what he looks like. We receive orders from a number of his capos."**

"Are all of these names Mistral speak, Pyrrha?"

"Yes, a capo is kind of an operative. A high-ranking employee."

 **"Jaune, the capo who'll be deciding whether you'll join the organization is a man named Polpo. He's in this building." Bruno pointed to his side. The building was shown, it was a prison, a huge one.**

 **"But...this building, it's a prison."**

 **"Correct. Polpo was convicted of a certain crime. He won't be out for fifteen years. He gives me orders and commands from the inside. He can leave this place whenever he feels like it, but he doesn't. There's simply no reason to."**

 **"But why?"**

 **"You'll understand once you go in."**

"I don't understand. Who would rather stay in prison than be free?"

"Well, Ruby, sometimes for people like them it's actually safer to be in an isolated cell." Weiss explained.

"Yeah, a lot of peeps will try to kill you when you're outside, they can't get to you inside a safe warm prison though." Yang finished.

"Judging from his sentence, he must've done something bad, considering his status I can see a lot of people wanting him dead." Blake added.

 **Bruno pointed a finger in Jaune's face. "Jaune Arc, you're going to be interviewed by him, and you have to pass. It's basically like any other job interview." Bucciarati explained. "What the interview actually entails will depend on his mood. But, whatever you do, don't let him find out about your true intentions." He said, sweating slightly. Jaune looked on nervously.**

"That's it, then? Just pass mafia dude's interview?"

"Simple enough."

"I fear there may be a catch to this," Ren began. "He said it would be like a normal job interview, but I can't help feeling a little bit suspiscious."

"Don't worry about it, Renny! If Jaune can convince Ozpin then he can convince whoever this person is too!"

"I guess you have a point, Nora."

"I DO?! YAY!"

 **"All right." Jaune started walking towards the gate. "Oh yeah, one more thing, the stand ability, that's what you called it, right? I never asked how you ended up with that ability. But...are there others with it too?"**

"Of course there are, you dolt. He still manages to surprise me everyday."

"Well...when he started, I had to unlock his aura for him, it's not really a big surprise to see he doesn't know about stands. They are very rare."

 **"That'll also be answered, once you get inside. If you pass, that is."**

"I mean...if he passed through initiation then he can pass this too." Said Ruby, optimistic.

 **The camera transitioned to a shot of a cell door opening. A group of security officers surrounded Jaune. "First, place your belongings in the tray." One of them ordered. Jaune obliged, placing his bag on the table and emptying his pockets. "Now, proceed to the next room for a body check." He walked to the next room, noticing that the men were all armed, he took on a cautious look.**

 **In the other room, there was a woman. "Stand right there and raise your arms over your head." She ordered, Arc listened and did what she told him. "Once you go down there, please continue straight into the hallway. Polpo's cell number is N-28." She checked his body for anything suspiscious. "The cell is divided with reinforced glass, you'll be able to talk to him. Touching the glass, giving him anything and taking anything from him are all forbidden. You have fifteen minutes." She nodded to the guard, he opened the door to the cell. "Once you pass through, the gate will close. If something happens, please yell."**

 **"I'm meeting him in his cell? Not in some kind of visiting room?"**

 **"Don't you know who he is?"**

"Looks like this dude is dangerous."

"Be careful, Jaune!" Pyrrha said. "These security precautions aren't for nothing."

"Reinforced glass? Seriously? Looks like this Polpo person is trouble." Said Ruby.

 **Jaune walked into the hallway, an ominous blue light emanating from the face statues on the wall. The door closed behind him, leaving the blond boy alone.**

"I don't like this at all," Blake said. "Theres's something weird about it."

 **He looked around for a bit before proceeding, he found a cell, N-28, this was Polpo's. It was empty. The room itself was fairly nice, it had the usual cell stuff on it, a toilet, a sink and a bed, there were some paintings on the walls, along with a minifridge and a drawer. Jaune examined it for a short while.**

"Wow, I can see why he didn't want to leave prison, what a nice little room that is." Weiss said.

"Where is he, though? You think he has a semblance that lets him go invisible? Or a stand, even?" Ren questioned.

"I don't know, that bed looks pretty comfy though." Spoke Yang.

 **He put his hand on the reinforced glass protecting the cell to examine it further. He suddenly heard a voice.**

 **"That left arm of yours..." The voice was deep, it had a strange tone to it, making it almost demonic sounding. An arm was now found on the "bed", the man got up, his enormous size surprising Jaune, he was a VERY heavyset man, wearing a yellow shirt and pants, his most defining features were his black eyes with light green pupils and his hair, it was red in color, having several light blue nail shaped objects etched into it.**

 **'That's no bed...'**

"WOAH! IS THAT EVEN A HUMAN BEING?!" Ruby exclaimed.

"What the hell?! How...I haven't seen anyone like that in my life! Pyrrha, have you-?" Yang asked.

"Absolutely not, Yang. This is one of the weirdest looking people I've ever seen." She answered.

"Seriously. How do you even get eyes like those. And are those nails on his head? What a freak, honestly." Weiss added.

"Can we talk about his size for a bit here?! This guy's an absolute unit! He's almost the size of his entire cell!" Said Nora.

"And his voice too, gives me chills, are there any demon faunus that I haven't heard of? This guy definitely fits the description." Spoke Ren.

"No, Ren. He's not a faunus. I haven't seen anything like him, nowhere, not even the White Fang."

"I guess that's why he also doesn't want to leave his cell, you can't really do anything when you're THAT big." Said Yang, responding to Nora's earlier comment.

 **"It's just on your right hand," The monstrous man said. "Your fingers were slightly red, like you were holding something. There are lines there, this means you were holding a bag on your right hand up until recently. Why's that?"**

"Goodness, this guy's voice gives me the heebiejeebies." Said Ruby.

"Looks like the interview's already started," Blake spoke, ignoring Ruby's earlier comment. "He's still warming up though, I have a feeling this is gonna get pretty serious."

 **"Well, uh...you're right. I was holding a bag in my right hand because, as you observed, I hurt my left arm."**

 **" _Bufufu._ I envy your ability to be so reckless with your body." He scooted a bit to the side and grabbed a bottle of wine and a glass from the minifridge. "Would you like some wine? I have some exquisite Vacuali Classico. It pairs wonderfully with Scamorza cheese and some caviar on a cracker."**

"Well he's quite fancy." Said Yang.

 **"I've been told I'm not allowed to give or take anything from you."**

 **" _Bufu,_ they're just saying that. What people say and what they do," He activated a device on his hand, this caused a part of the cell wall to go up, revealing a stash of different things. A grenade, some guns, a violin, a TV and...a teddy bear. "Are so vastly different!"**

Pyrrha's expression saddened. What had become of her kingdom?

"Are you kidding me? How much power do these people seem to have?!" Weiss said, exasperated. "This wouldn't ever happen in Atlas!"

"I guess this is why Fearless Leader wants to take over this whole thing. They basically rule the city!"

 **Polpo tilted his head and gave a knowing smile. "That's the best and worst thing about people. The only downside to being in this cell is...well...the fact that I can't admire Michael Jones's great painting in the sistine chapel."**

 **As he continued speaking, Jaune nervously stared at him and the hidden wall. 'Polpo...it's not that he doesn't need to leave the prison. Things would be the same for him whether he left or not.'**

 **The obese man drank some wine from the glass before grabbing some crackers that were to his side and eating them. 'With that body, he might as well stay in prison. More importantly, how did he fit through the door?'**

"That's what I've been saying! How does a guy that's as big as an elephant fit through a tiny cell door?" Said Ruby

"What if they built the cell around him?" Yang responded. Her friends looked at her. "What? I think it makes sense."

"I'm not even gonna acknowledge what you just said," Weiss spoke. "Let's move on with the dumb questions."

 **After enjoying his snack, Polpo looked back to Jaune. "Bucciarati's told me all about you," He gave a large chuckle before picking up a large cracker. "So, you want to join our organization?" He turned his entire body around to face Jaune. "Hmmm...Jaune Arc, was it? Well, why don't we get this interview started?" Polpo asked before crunching down on his crackers...and his fingers. Blood covered his lips as he ate the tips of his fingers along with the crackers.**

"WOAH?! UMMMM?! WHAT?" Screamed Ruby.

"What the hell?!" Weiss said. "He just...I'm gonna have to look away."

"Does he not feel pain? Is he so fat his nerves don't work anymore?" Questioned Nora.

"That's not how it works, Nora. This guy's just messed up." Explained Ren.

"That's gotta be his stand right? Or his semblance?" Pyrrha asked.

"Probably, still pretty weird though." Answered Yang.

"What a strange man."

 **Jaune's eyes went wide and he began sweating bullets. His attention was grabbed by the sound of a cuckoo clock, he saw one right next to the window. Arc looked back at Polpo and gasped, his fingers were perfectly fine. 'What the hell was that? Did my eyes play a trick on me? For a moment, it looked like he took a bite of his fingers along with the cracker...'**

"He's gotta be messing with Jaune, somehow!" Exclaimed Ruby.

"I don't know, maybe it was just nerves. He would be pretty nervous getting interviewed by this...unorthodox looking man." Responded Weiss.

"He is pretty intimidating, I'll give you that." Yang said.

 **Jaune's expression changed into one of steely determination. 'No...maybe Polpo is also a stand user, just like Bucciarati. Either way, I can't let him find out that I'm one aswell.'**

"That's the plan, I guess." Said Blake.

 **"What do you think is the most important thing when choosing someone, Jaune Arc?" Polpo asked as he picked up a lighter and lit it, before scooching over to be directly in front of the window.**

 **Jaune paused for a second, contemplating the Capo's question. "Is it what they're capable of?"**

"Correct. It also depends on how good someone is at their role." Said Weiss, the heiress part of her suddenly jumping out.

 **"Oh? And what exactly are you capable of?" Polpo asked, smiling.**

 **"I'm a former student of a Huntsman academy, that gives me talents you wouldn't find on a normal crook." Jaune lifted both his hands, and like a magic trick, a wallet and a large sum of money fell from them. Polpo awed at the display. "I borrowed a few things when she was patting me down. I thought these would be useful for your test. I'll be returning them to her when I leave, of course."**

"Now that's how you impress a gangster. Good work, Jaune." Pyrrha praised.

"He seems to know the type of person he's dealing with." Ren said.

"Being a former huntsman-in-training will also give him bonus points." Blake joined in.

 **Polpo pulled his head back in laughter, quite enjoying Jaune's capabilities. He leaned forward expectantly. "Do you have anything else?"**

 **Jaune answered immeadiately. "Well, I'm quite decent at combat. Other than that, the only skill I have is being able to completely fold my ear into my head." Arc said as he demonstrated for Polpo, the Capo looked on in fascination.**

"Ewwwww...how is that even possible?" Questioned Ruby.

 **" _Bufu,_ that's rather amusing." Polpo said as he put his now empty wine glass down. "But, you see..." He said, now serious. The Capo leaned down and put his face in front of Jaune's who, to his credit, did not move away. "There's something else that's far more important than combat ability or special talents, and trust me Jaune Arc," Polpo used his left finger to pick at his teeth as he spoke. "The most important thing when it comes to choosing people is trust. In comparison, being smart or being talented means as much as this piece of cracker stuck between my teeth." He said as he flicked the piece of soggy cracker at Jaune, splattering it on the window.**

"Ewwwwwwww...again."

 **Polpo held up the lit lighter. "This test is all about seeing how trustworthy you are...with this lighter's flame." He placed the lighter on a tray, which caused the wall to slide up and open for Jaune to take it with him. "Take it, and make sure the flame doesn't go out."**

"That's it? Doesn't seem so bad." Said Yang.

"There's gotta be a catch to it, though," Ren responded. "There always is."

 **Jaune walked over to grab it, but the very act of placing his hand near it almost made it go out. "Whoa, there." Polpo said, drawing Jaune's gaze to see him leaning on the wooden table that held up the cuckoo clock. The Capo put a finger up. "Be extra careful to make sure the flame doesn't go out."**

 **"Miles Luna, the ancient theologian, said, "he's my friend who speaks well of me behind my back". In order to join our organization, you'll have to show how trustworthy you are when we can't see you. For 24 hours, you will hold on to that lighter without letting the flame go out." Polpo said. "Simple, Right? The lighter has plenty of fluid in it. All you have to do is sit quietly in your room until 3PM and make sure the flame doesn't go out. If you're a careful man who'll work hard to make sure it doesn't go out, the flame shouldn't go out. Which means you're someone we can trust."**

"So that's the catch, keeping it lit for 24 hours." Pyrrha said.

"Um...how does keeping a lighter lit for a day mean that Fearless Leader's trustworthy? That doesn't make any sense!"

"It means that he's working for them even if they can't see him, Nora. This means they can trust him to do other jobs without watching him." Blake explained.

 **"However...if you're a man who is taking us too lightly and you fall asleep, sneeze, knock it over or a sudden wind comes and blows the flame out...it means that you are untrustworthy, and I can't allow you to join our organization. Now, take the lighter, this is your entrance exam."**

"Wow, they're really serious about this." Ruby said.

"Of course they are, Rubes. Why are you gonna pay a dumbass doesn't take his job that seriously?" Yang responded.

"Well, I wouldn't call being a gangster a job." Weiss joined.

 **Jaune reached up with both hands and attempted to take it, but recoiled when the flame wavered. He tried again, going slower, and was able to hold it properly. "You have 24 hours." Polpo said from his cell. "I'm looking forward to seeing you come visit me again, tomorrow at 3PM."**

 **Jaune walked away from Polpo, sweat pouring down as he kept an eye on the lighter. 'For 24 hours...'**

"Okay...not gonna lie, I'm feeling kinda nervous right now. Imagine what Vomit Boy's feeling."

"This is easier than initiation, Yang. He has nothing to worry about. Just keep the lighter lit and don't be a dunce."

"Yeah, it's not complicated. Jaune can do this." Pyrrha said.

 **He came back to the body check room, one of the guard spoke up. "All visitors must go through another body check when they go through the gate." Jaune's eyes went wide as he realized. "Once you're told that you can leave the facility, please continue to the next room and grab your belongings."**

"Oh no! He's gonna be found out!" Ruby worriedly said.

"Relax Ruby. Polpo's probably bribed them." Blake reassured.

 **The woman came closer, and Jaune hurriedly covered the lighter behind his hand and body. "Wait! Polpo didn't tell you anything?"**

 **The woman stopped. "What?" She glared at Jaune as the security guards pulled guns on him. She pointed at him. "I'm going to pat you down now, let me remind you that it is prohibited to accept anything from him."**

"Wait?! He didn't?!" Blake said, mirroring the disbelief of her friends and teammates. "But...his cell is so full of unordinary things, you would think he bribed the guards too."

 **'Shit! I was under the impression that Polpo bribed all these guys, giving me permission to take the lighter out of here!' Jaune started to panic, but was doing his best to remain calm and collected.**

 **"Visitor, put your hands up and proceed forward!"**

 **'So, Polpo's test for me has already started...and...I have no choice but to go with it! I have to pass this test and get into Passione!' A close up of the boy's determined glare turned blue and transitioned once again into the coin scene. This time it showed Koichi Hirose's Echoes ACT 3.**

"He's gotta hide it, somehow. I don't know how he's gonna do it, but he's gotta do it."

"Hey! I don't want to change the subject that much, but this is that Koichi guy's stand. Echoes, ACT 3. It has a B in power, a B in speed, a C in range, a B in durability, a C in precision and an A in development potential."

"Wow, all around solid. I guess it's by training. His development potential is also A, I'm guessing this means the stand was weaker when he was younger." Pyrrha said.

"Probably, also, in his fight with Jaune, he managed to break the entire concrete floor with just one attack! How does it only have a B in power?!"

"He's a huntsman, the stand is probably already at its peak condition." Blake said. "Let's not forget, it has an ability as well. To make things heavier. It's very powerful."

 **It transitioned back to nor** **mal. The woman pointed at Jaune. "Visitor, hurry forward!"**

 **'Just like I hid her ID in my hand earlier, I'll hide this flame so nobody can see it!' He painfully put his finger over the flame, keeping it hidden, but still lit. A very faint line of black smoke wafted up from his fingers.**

"Ouch, that must hurt like heck!"

"Maybe I've misjudged Arc in the past. I didn't know he had this much resolve."

"He does! That's why he's our Fearless Leader!"

 **Jaune put both hands up and walked over to the guardswoman. She knelt down and felt his legs and thighs, before standing and feeling his chest and back. She then slid both hands up his arms and stopped just before his hand. She looked to his face, and saw nothing that could tell her he had anything hidden. She stepped back. "You're free to go. There are no problems here. You may leave this facility."**

They sighed in relief.

 **Jaune brought his arms down, but the woman lashed her hand down and grabbed his left arm, the one holding the lighter. "However...please open up your hand. Let me remind that it is prohibited to accept anything from him. Visitor, open your hand! I'm going to check."**

They tensed up again.

 **A familiar sound played as Jaune slowly opened his hand, the woman peered into it. Her eyes widened, a white flower was seen on Jaune's palm. She picked it up. "A flower?" She took a long sniff of it. "A real flower," She laughed a bit to herself. "Very well, I guess I'll allow you to take that out."**

They sighed in relief yet again.

"Genius move, Jauney."

"He does make very smart usage of his stand power, it's almost like he's had it for his entire life, not just a few months." Said Weiss.

"I've noticed that, too. This power would've helped him tremendously here in Beacon." Pyrrha added, her face took on a saddened expression. "It's such a shame."

"It has its limitations, but Gold Experience is a fantastic power to have, overall." Ren joined in.

"He could've kicked so much butt in here, with us..." Nora said. She, Pyrrha and Ruby were the ones who were visibly more sad about his departure. Not that it didn't affect the rest of them.

 **"You are permitted to leave this facility." The doors opened for the blond boy, allowing him to leave the building. After he went through them, he found himself alone, the white flower began to change. A flame seeped through it. 'I turned the lighter into a flower and hid the flame within it.' The lighter now returned to its natural form. 'That was close.'**

"Too close." Blake said.

 **'But...is this flame Polpo's stand ability?'**

"Stands are said to be very strange, so there's a possibility." Spoke Ren.

"It wouldn't surprise me one bit if it was, honestly." Pyrrha responded.

 **The camera shifted over to a school, a seemingly normal one. Jaune walked around the public with a lighter in his hand and a bag on the other.**

"A bit out of topic here, but imagine if you just saw a random dude holding a lit lighter while walking down the street, what would you think he was doing?"

"Now that you mention it Rubes, it does look pretty weird. I don't know, honestly."

"I would think he was just lighting the world's smallest cigarettes! Because they're so small, he has to concentrate on lighting them so he holds it for a while!"

"What?"

 **A wind rustled the trees on his side, almost as a warning. The sudden wind made the lighter's flame move to the side, threatening to go out. He managed to protect it. 'That wind's definitely bad news!'**

"Be careful, Jaune! You know what the man said to you." Pyrrha spoke.

 **"Hey, Jaune! Perfect timing." A bunch of people his age called out to him, they were wearing soccer/football uniforms and were set up in a pyramid position, a camera was in front of them. "Could you take this photo for us?"**

 **"No." The team gasped in shock. They all fell down a couple of moments later. Jaune hurried up the stairs into the building.**

They laughed quite a bit at this.

 **An old man, presumably a janitor, walked out of a room before Arc could climb the stairs. He was holding a lot of things, they were all cleaning tools, like a bucket or a broom. The elderly man appeared to be struggling. "Sorry. Could you help me carry this, young man?"**

 **"No." The old man gasped as well.**

"He is a pretty nice guy, under normal circumstances he probably would've helped them." Weiss said.

"I think that's why they were so shocked, Weiss." Blake responded.

 **Jaune was now in the building. He went up more stairs until he finally reached his goal, his dorm room. He closed the door behind him and sighed in relief. 'I finally made it to my dorm.' The air from the sigh he had made reached the flame, almost putting it out. He yelped in surprise, holding a hand to his mouth. The flame came back, now a bit stronger.**

They had the same reaction as him.

"Jeez! Don't scare me like that Fearless Leader! My heart almost stopped!"

 **He looked around for a bit, his mind coming up with a plan. He quickly moved, taking a bite of a bread that had been laying around. He put the lighter in the place where he bit it and moved some his things. The flame was now protected. It was stuck deep in some bread, this meant the lighter couldn't fall over and around it were various objects that would stop the wind from getting to it. "There. Now the lighter won't fall over, and even if the air moves, the flame will be protected."**

"Okay. Now just stay there. Don't leave and don't take your eyes off of it." Said Ren.

"C'mon, Jaune! Don't let that thing go! If you do, your dream's gonna fade away as well!" Cheered Ruby.

"Yeah, Jauney's got this, the only thing he has to to is Gold Experience around for a day!" Yang said.

"What?"

"He's gotta STAND around for a whole day!" She grinned, proud of herself.

"Ughhhhh."

"Darn it Yang."

"This is serious, how can you make jokes at a time like this?!" Said Blake.

"Oh, come on people. That one was almost impossible to not make!" She defended herself.

 **"Now I just gotta watch over this for the next 23 hours, just as Polpo said. I'll make sure my window is locked, just in case." He walked over to the other side of his dorm, where the window was, it was close to the door. "I need to make sure some random wind doesn't come in here and put it out." The door to the outside began to open. Jaune noticed this. 'What? Who even opens a door before knocking?' The mirror beside the door showed the reflection of the person entering it to Jaune, it was Koichi Hirose, the man he had stolen from earlier. 'T-That's-!'**

"Oh! So that's why they showed his stand in the card earlier." Pyrrha deducted.

"This guy again? Isn't his mission already over? What's he even doing here anymore?" Questioned Nora.

"Well, I seem to recall Jaune stealing his passport on episode 1, so maybe he's just looking for it." Blake answered.

 **Koichi opened the door, he found himself on a empty room. "Looks like he's gone out. Now's my chance." He looked at the window, exactly the place Jaune had hidden in. He was hanging on a pipe beside it, falling down from that height would be a bad situation. 'It's that tourist guy again! His name was Koichi Hirose! How did he find out my address?'**

"Yeah, how?" Ruby asked.

"Simple, just ask for Jaune Arc and anybody who he's worked with will tell. It was probably those cops from earlier." Yang answered.

"Nevermind that, he's going to find the lighter!" Pyrrha said, changing the subject. Before they could continue, the show interrupted.

 **Koichi looked around the dorm for a few moments. "Looks like my suitcase and my belongings are long gone, my passport might still be around, though. It's much harder to sell someone's ID." He checked every single corner of Jaune's room, even looking under the bed. "I feel like a thief, sneaking in to someone's room like this but..." He stopped for a short moment. "No! He's the thief here! What's so wrong about trying to find what belongs to me?"**

 **'His passport? Shit! It's in the documents case on top of my desk! I was going to give it back to him!'**

"That's nice of you." Pyrrha said.

"Though I'm pretty sure he would've kicked your ass the second he saw you Vomit Boy."

"The lighter's on his desk, though! If Koichi finds it, it's over." Weiss spoke.

 **'At this rate, Koichi's going to see the lighter's flame! Then he'll probably put it out! He'll think it'll set the place on fire! What do I do!?' I have to hurry up and to something to retrieve it!' He noticed the lamp and the electricity pipe going to it. 'Gold Experience!' He brought out his stand and used it to stealthily punch the outlet. The energy from the punch transferred over to the lamp via the wire. GE's signature sound played as the lamp turned into a snake. It grabbed on to the bread.**

"That stand's versatility impresses me everytime. Honestly insane." Ren commented.

"He really hit the jackpot with this one, it looks really cool too!"

 **The snake had the bread with the lighter on it in its mouth, Koichi hadn't seem to notice, it carefully lifted it up. 'I used the Gold Experience to turn the light cord into a snake. That bread is pretty delicious. Good job biting on to it! Now I'll pull it up with the cord-' Jaune was about to finish his thought when something unexpected happened. The lighter's flame reached the snake's scales, and it let go of the bread. 'What? Shit!'**

"Oh yeah, that snake is still a living animal. I forgot about that." Said Blake.

"I guess you can count that as a weakness." Pyrrha commented. "Jaune's in big trouble now, what's he gonna do?!" She said, a lot more worried this time.

 **The bread landed back on the desk, the lamp returned back to normal. Koichi noticed the sudden movement and went to check it. He found the lighter. 'I can't believe this, he's found it! This isn't good. I have to make sure he doesn't blow the flame out!' He swiftly entered his dorm again, through the window.**

"Jaune's not gonna try and fight him for it, right? He's a huntsman! Jaune's gonna get destroyed." Said Ruby.

"Jeez...with all of this bad luck happening to him recently, you'd think he also has uncle Qrow's semblance." Yang commented, her teammates didn't understand what she was talking about, but decided not to respond.

 **Koichi, with the bread with the lighter on it in hand, noticed a trail of smoke coming from one of the cabinets on Jaune's desk. "Oh?" He opened it, and found a passport. "This has the Valean logo on it!" He picked it up. "I found it! This is my passport!" He screamed when it slightly burned his hand. "It's on fire! It's burning!" He hit it against the bread a couple of times, putting it out. "Thank Monty..." He looked at the bread again. "That's strange, I thought I saw a lit lighter on this..."**

 **The next scene showed Jaune running, or rather walking fast. The lighter was in his hand.**

"Just like that, huh?" Ren said, a little proud at Jaune's agility.

"From a professional huntsman, no less." Pyrrha praised, a light blush on her cheeks.

"You're so cool, Fearless Leader!" Nora excitedly spoke, in her usual energetic manner.

 **"That was close. He almost extinguished the flame." He walked to the exit of the dorm, his intention being to leave the school. " _I, Jaune Arc, have a dream!_ And, to take my first step upon that dream, I have to protect this flame, no matter what!"**

Pyrrha blushed profusely when he said those words, he sounded so convincing, like a true leader. Ruby was also in awe, being a leader herself.

They were silenced by what happened next.

 **A sudden jet of water splashed Jaune, he barely avoided his face getting hit by it. "Whoa, that was close." The same old man from before said. "Sorry about that, I was just cleaning the stairs. I'm just glad the water didn't hit you." He picked up a broom and began cleaning the floor. "That means we've both done good things in our daily lives. Your daily live is important. If you weren't careful, you'd probably be wearing that bucket on your head."**

A few moments of stunned silence passed by.

"Did...he get the water on the lighter?" Blake finally spoke up.

"Um...I don't know..."

 **Jaune's hand was drenched in water. He held the lighter with his fists closed. He checked it. The flame had been put out. Arc gasped in horror.**

And so did them.

"Oh no...what just..." Weiss began.

"After all the things he did to protect it..." Blake commented.

"An accident, a complete and utter accident." Yang said, a bit pissed off.

"This is...is there no way to re-do it?" Ruby asked.

"Re-do what? The test? Probably not. This isn't a normal test, this was for a gang." Ren answered.

"Fearless Leader..."

Pyrrha was in silence, she was crushed. Probably on the same level as Jaune. A few tears built up on her eyes, she quickly got rid of them before everyone else could notice.

 **"Seriously? This isn't good?"**

"You tell me, Vomit Boy."

 **"The flame..." He examined it for a bit. 'I wonder if I can ask Polpo to let me try again...No, if he was that forgiving, he wouldn't have tested me with this.'**

 **"Flame?" The janitor noticed Jaune's deflated look. "Is that lighter not lighting up anymore? Is it broken? Is it my fault?"**

 **"No, it wasn't you. I'm actually trying to process what happened."**

 **"From what I can see, it doesn't look broken." The old man said as he approached Jaune, who had put the object down on the railing. "It's still letting gas out."**

 **"Wait, what?" The elderly janitor put his ear on the lighter, a soft sound could be heard coming from it.**

 **"Yep, it's still got gas coming out. Is this the switch? Did you try pushing it?"**

"Wait, what? You can activate it again?" Said Yang.

"What's the point of the test then?" Ruby joined in.

"No...it shouldn't be able to. That's strange." Blake responded.

 **"It shouldn't be able to light. This whole test depended on if this flame was lit or not, if you were able to just activate it again, there'd be no point to any of this" Jaune spoke to himself. The old man didn't seem to notice. He was too occupied complimenting the lighter's design.**

"Exactly!"

"There's something else at play here." Pyrrha said, a bit more calm now.

"OH NO! IT'S GONNA BLOW UP IF YOU LIGHT IT AGAIN! DON'T DO IT, OLD MAN!" Nora screamed. They looked at her like she was crazy. "C'mon people! It's the only explanation to this!"

 **He relit the flame, it went up to an enormous length before settling down again. "There. I was startled by its size, it looks like it's working just fine. See?" He gave it back to Jaune. "By the way, you aren't smoking cigarettes, are you?" The sun was beginning to set, giving the world an orange hue.**

 **'Something's wrong. It lit up again, there has to be something wrong!' He looked up again, to his front. There was a figure there, it was gray in color, a hat and cape covering it. It walked by Jaune, and disappeared beside a pillar. Small whispers could be heard. 'What the-' Jaune thought as he followed it.**

"That's a stand! What's happening?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know." Pyrrha answered, this was the same case for everyone else.

 **Before he could even get close to it, the figure had vanished. 'Is that his sta-"**

 **"You relit the lighter, didn't you? I'll give you two possible paths. " The ghost-like being said, it now located itself in the stairs, grabbing the old man by the face.**

"That voice..it's Polpo's!" Ruby exclaimed.

"That has got to be that oaf's stand!" Weiss added.

"Is that the trigger for it?" Blake questioned.

"Probably. I'm still confused, why?" Yang said.

 **'That's-'**

 **" The first path is to live and become a chosen one. The only other path is death." It grabbed the old man's soul. It opened its mouth, an arrow came out.**

 **'That's a stand! That's gotta be Polpo's stand!'**

 **"You relit the lighter! This is your fate!"** **The stand stabbed the arrow in the old janitor's forehead.**

 **"No way! You bastard! What are you doing?!" Jaune screamed, enraged. The stand took out the arrow. The old man fell back to the floor, dead.**

 **"This soul did not belong to the one who should be chosen."**

 **'The one who should be chosen?'**

"It just killed that poor man! Kick its ass, Jaune!" Yang said, red-eyed.

"That arrow... It's a stand arrow!" Ren exclaimed. "It's one of the only legitimate ways of obtaining a stand! What's it doing here? On a stand, no less?"

Pyrrha realized something. "I know! That's how he chooses people! He makes them fail the test, then the ones who survive the arrow get stabbed and obtain a stand!" Pyrrha explained.

"Pyrrha, that's brilliant! That's why he speaks of the "chosen ones". It means the people who develop a stand ny this method! That's how they join the gang! That's why the majority of them are stand users!" Blake added.

 **It threw the elderly janitor down the stairs. Jaune managed to catch his dead body. 'He's dead. He's uninjured, but dead. Was it because..the stand pulls people's souls out and kills them with an arrow?'**

No! Well...kind of, Jaune," Pyrrha said. "Please be careful."

 **Arc started to back away from it. The stand looked to be searching for something. 'But...does "the one who should be chosen" mean someone who can join the gang?'**

"Yes! Exactly!"

 **As soon as he stepped on a shadow, the creature noticed him. "You relit the lighter too, didn't you? I'll give you one more chance you have two possible paths."  It lunged at Jaune, the screen went blue and the "to be continued" arrow hit again.**

 **The episode ended.**

"OH COME ON! WHY DOES IT ALWAYS END LIKE THIS! I WANTED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED WITH FEARLESS LEADER!"

"What are you waiting for, Ren? Put the next one on!" Pyrrha ordered.

"Right away."

"This guy's stand...it chooses the people who can join their gang. The rest just die, how barbaric."

"How will Jaune get out of this?" Ruby questioned.

"We'll see, Rubes. I'm sure he's gonna be fine. He's already got a stand, I'm pretty sure the arrow's not gonna do anything to him."

"I know, maybe he'll get a super duper OP power out of it though!" Said Ruby, in response to her sister's comment.

"I doubt it." Blake said.

The next episode started.

* * *

 **AN: And that's the chapter! This one was a lot easier for me. Why? Well...it turns out I have a Co-author now! His name's Guikoi, check him out, he has some great stuff. Next chapter is the big one, hope you guys are excited for it! REALLY excited to bring you guys this story. Now that I have someone to help, expect more frequent updates.**

 **This is Kyraptor, signing off.**

 **Chapter Status: RETIRED**


	4. Joining the Gang!

**AN: Hello again! Kyraptor here. Another day, another JBA: GR chapter. Hope you all enjoy it. The episode part of this chapter was written by my amazing co-author Guikoi, check him out if you haven't already. Really excited about this one, let's get to it! Oh and also feel free to review by the way. I'll respond to every single one in the AN for the next chapter, tell me what you think about the story, what I'm doing good at and what I could do better. Feel free to also ask me anything about the universe this story takes place in, I'll answer all of them. Or if you just want to thank me, be sure to do that on a review aswell, it helps a lot more than you think, I promise. One more thing, feel free to PM me with your ideas for reactions. I'll always answer those too.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Ultimate Kuuga: I think they'll know soon enough, well...maybe 8 chapters isn't really that soon, but I'll do my best! Thank you very much.**

 **Jss2141: Well, if you haven't read the manga, There's some things that happen later between the both of them. Giorno and Mista, I mean. Naturally these things will transfer over to this story aswell. Thanks.**

 **KRKing: That one was planned from the beginning to show up. What kind of monster would I be if I didn't include it, huh? It's making its debut next chapter, hope you stick around for the rest!**

 **reven228: Thank you, You'll get your wish soon. I'll use that Yang and Pyrrha dialogue by the way, you can count on it showing up.**

 **Kamencolin: You caught me! Well...since you're a real smart guy, there's an easter egg in chapter 1, try to find it. Hint: It's before they begin watching the show.**

 **Greer123: Thank you, hope you enjoy the story.**

 **zeldawolffang: Thank you!**

 **Guest: Yeah...I've noticed. But I can assure you this one's not gonna die anytime soon. Thank you.**

 **darkraizerGx1: Oh! Um...I'm not going to actually pair Jaune and Mista together, it was just a little joke reffering to something that happens later in the part, it's cool though! Thanks for the review.**

 **camdawg: Don't think so, sorry. Thank you for reviewing though, I appreciate it.**

 **dandyrr0403: Thank you! Really appreciate it.**

 _ **OPEN THE GAME!**_

* * *

The episode started playing.

 **After a short recap, it begins with the stand having turned towards Jaune. " You relit the lighter too, didn't you? I'll give you one more chance. You have two possible paths." The being said before charging at Jaune, hands outstreched.**

 **Jaune had to drop the old man, he flipped on to the guard rail and ran up it, as the stand stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned towards him. 'So it indiscrimimately attacks anyone who happens to see the lighter relit.' The boy analised as he sat on the guard rail at the top of the stairs.**

"Yeah, what a weird setup that is. For Polpo's power, I mean." Weiss said.

"It's a strange power overall, that stand arrow isn't supposed to be one of its powers, it's a real object, a stand shouldn't be able to carry it like that." Spoke Ren.

"Polpo isn't really the most mobile person around, I suppose an ability that works from such a ridiculous range sorta fits him." Blake commented.

"Especially since he's the person who interviews newcomers into Passione. This power is very convenient for him." Pyrrha added.

"What can Jaune do here? Does he have to beat this thing? Or will fatty die if he does?" Nora questioned.

"That's the million lien question, Nora." Yang responded.

"He really doesn't have a choice, guys. He killed that poor old man! He had nothing to do with this!" Ruby exclaimed.

 **The stand reached forward, it grabbed Jaune's shadow and tugged on it, pulling it off the guard rail and holding it. "This...this is...this bastard! He's dragging my soul out of me through my shadow!" The shadow held by the stand transformed into Gold Experience. The opening started to play.**

They once again didn't pay much attention to Fighting Gold, as Jaune appeared to be in trouble.

"Oh no! He's grabbed Jaune's stand! Wait...does that mean that Jaune's stand is his soul too?" Ruby questioned.

"Yes, it is." Ren responded, referring to his explanation of stands back in episode 2.

"So, it grabs people souls through their shadows, then hits them with that weird arrow, and the ones that survive develop stands? Is that right?" Yang asked.

"Yes. It seems that its purpose is to provide newbies their first test." Blake answered.

"But...what happens if Jaune gets hit with it, then? Does he just..?" Weiss said.

"I don't think anybody here has any idea what that'll do, Weiss." Spoke Ren.

"Not even you, Renny? But you're supposed to be the stand encyclopedia here!"

"Well, I have my flaws too. That was a big word, Nora. Congratulations."

"Thanks!"

 _ **FIGHTING GOLD!**_

 **"I'll give you one more chance. You have two possible paths."** **The stand opened its mouth and the arrow burst forth. " The first is to become a chosen one." The being wrapped both of its hands around Gold Experience's throat, stopping both it and Jaune, its user, from moving as they choked.**

 **'It's no use...it's stronger than Gold Experience. The old man died after his soul was struck with the arrow. Is that what's gonna happen to me if my stand is attacked?' The thought went through Jaune's head like lightning. He desperately tried to escape the black stand's grip.**

"Gold Experience ain't exactly the cream of the crop when it comes to strength, Jaune might need to work on that." Ruby commented.

"For such a powerful and versatile stand, it is surprisingly weak on the physical side. Granted, he does have that ability to overload the opponent's senses with a single punch." Pyrrha added.

"All of this weird stuff that it can do is just compensating for its weak physical power." Weiss said.

"Oh, come on you guys! A C in power isn't that bad! It's just average! The thing is that all the other people shown so far have better power than him, this makes the impression that Fearless Leader's power is weak!" Nora spoke. Her friends and teammates looked at her, almost in shock. "What? I can be smart too."

 **"Your only other path is death."** **Said the stand. It threw its head down towards GE, ready to puncture it. The arrow stopped when GE grabbed it tightly. Jaune screamed in pain as smoke erupted from his stand's hand and it cracked like glass, blood leaking through said cracks. The same damage was done to Jaune's own hand. "Th-this arrow! If I actually get stabbed by it, I'm dead for sure!"**

"Jeez, did you guys see that? I guess gaining an OP power after being stabbed by it two times is not a thing!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha said, she was worried beyond belief, once again.

"He has to beat this thing somehow! Kick its ass, Vomit Boy! For the old man!"

"He's been through so much these last few days, two massive fights in a row." Blake commented.

"Three, if you count Arc's initial spat with that Koichi man." Weiss added.

 **Jaune glared at the stand. "I've got no choice! Even if Polpo's one of the Capos, if he's going to stand in my way and even kill an innocent old man like he was a piece of trash...I have to defeat him!"**

"That's right! Destroy him like the Fearless Leader that you are, Jauney!" Nora cheered.

Pyrrha blushed again. Jaune had grown so much over these last few months, it was incredible. She admired his goals, his resolve and his conviction more than any of her friends ever could. This was on a personal level, this was Jaune stepping up to save her kingdom from something that's been plaguing it for the past ten years. She wished she could go with him, but watching this new Jaune made her realize he didn't need anyone's help anymore, he was his own man, with his own stand, he could finally match up to everybody else! That thought made her feel giddy inside, she silently squealed.

"Yeah! You go, Jaune! You'll be the ultimate Gang-Star!" Ruby excitedly said.

 **The stand's head was thrown back violently when Gold Experience launched a devastating uppercut into its chin. GE then grabbed its collar and put a foot to its leg, pushing itself away from the black ghostly figure.**

"OHHHH! GET OWNED, BLACK THING!" Yang said, very hyped up.

 **After fighting out of the stand's grasp, Gold Experience got back into its face and launched a devastatingly powerful barrage of attacks. "MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"**

The energetic duo of Nora and Ruby let out screams of excitement.

"Heck yeah! Let's go, Jaune!"

"Muda? What does that mean?" Ren questioned.

"Probably just a battle cry, I've seen lots of people do that in movies! C'mon Jauney!" Yang said.

 **Jaune posed, his body tilted to the side and an arm streched towards the stand, with Gold Experience wrapped around him protectively from behind. "Gold Experience, only your senses will go berserk, and all movements will look slow."**

"Wow, nice pose Jaune." Blake said, a little amused.

"He's almost a mistralian model now." Weiss continued, amused as well.

Pyrrha's face was profoundly red, almost the same color as her hair.

 **The being crashed into the elderly janitor's water bucket, and seemingly disappeared into the water. Jaune's confidence also vanished with it, his eyes went wide with shock and confusion. 'It's gone! That's impossible! It shouldn't be able to control its movements right now! If it were able to move, it would've been extremely slow! It shouldn't be able to disappear!'**

 **Jaune carefully looked around his surroundings, double and triple checking everything. "It has to be around here somewhere...it has to be!" Unknown to the boy, the shadow on the stairs behind him began to ripple, and the stand's hand reached out towards him. "I have to find it before Gold Experience's effect wears off, or I'll be attacked again!"**

 **He continued his search, he stopped when a small hole opened up on his neck and leaked blood. Arc looked down beside him to find Gold Experience on the ground, being held by the mysterious stand. The arrow was piercing his neck. "W-what!? F-from the shadows?! S-shit! Its movements are slower, but it's still just as powerful! I can't move at all!"**

"It attacks from the shadows?! That's gotta be it, right?!" Said Ruby.

"Ouch! That looks bad." Yang commented.

"I...thought that effect didn't work on other stands. It didn't work for Bucciarati." Spoke Pyrrha, a little confused.

"There are various types of stands, this one is different from Bruno's. It's an automatic type, so it's completely separate from its host. I think that'a reasonable explanation." Answered Ren.

 **The stand rose up until it stood tall, still jabbing the arrow in Gold Experience's neck. Jaune leaned back in pain, trying to stop himself from screaming out.**

They winced at the pain their friend was being put through. Especially Pyrrha.

 **As Jaune leaned back, the sunlight previously blocked by his body shined onto the stand. It let go of GE and Arc dropped over the guard rail to the floor below. The boy groaned in pain before he rolled over onto his stomach and getting up on all fours. His fingers touched the shadow of the school building as he was recovering.**

 **The stand rose out of the shadows beside Jaune, scaring him and making him roll away. The figure reached out to grab him, but as soon as he rolled away, it stopped and just stood there. After a few seconds it turned and walked away.**

"...Is it not seeing him?" Blake questioned.

"He's...I'm pretty sure..." Weiss said, she didn't finish her sentence.

"I mean...I guess he can only walk in shadows?" Yang spoke, being the only one in the room who was actually able to finish their thought.

"Like a vampire?" Ruby responded.

"Yeah, there you go."

 **Jaune grew confused and curious as to what was happening. He reached down and touched the shadow again, the stand rose out and went to grab him. He removed his finger quickly, and the being stopped and walked away for the second time.**

"It really is! Looks like this thing can only move through shadows." Pyrrha said.

"Jaune has quite an advantage now that he knows." Ren commented.

"This fight just got a whole lot easier! Kick his butt, Jaune!" Nora cheered.

 **"The shadows! It's in the shadows! It can move with amazing speed, but only within the shadow...looks like it can't follow me into sunlight." The boy stood up and watched the stand move around. "But the sun is going to set on the other side of the school soon. Once that happens, I'll have nowhere to run. What'll happen if I force it out into the sunlight? It's definitely worth trying. But how am I going to drag it out?"**

"The sun's really about to set...wow, you've been really lucky these past few days, Jauney." Yang joked despite the bad situation her friend had gotten himself in.

"Now I'm really wondering if he has the same semblance as Uncle Qrow!"

 **The stand stopped and turned towards Jaune, it did not come closer, instead it just blankly stared at him. "What should I do? It's waiting right there." The boy with a dream said to himself as he kept the lighter in his hands close to his chest. "It's waiting there patiently for the sun to go down."**

"Jeez...that thing is super creepy!" Said Nora.

"This music really isn't helping too, who decided to make a soundtrack for real life? This isn't a tv show or an anime!" Weiss said, baffled.

"Wait...you watch anime, Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"No! I was just saying an example...although I do enjoy reading Steel Ball Tendency once in a while."

"Oh yeah! That rules! Shiza Zeppelin is the best!"

"Too bad he died though." Blake joined in.

"Wait...really? I'm not that far in yet! How dare you, Blake?!"

"Oh, sorry..."

"Yeah, you better be!"

"How about we stop screwing around because, as you guys can clearly see, JAUNE IS IN TROUBLE, SO SHUT UP!" Screamed Pyrrha, the all female team finally grew quiet.

 **"HEY!" A voice called out, Jaune turned to the stairs to see Koichi Hirose. "What are you doing, Jaune Arc?!"**

"Oh, Come on! What is this, a Royal Rumble?!" Yang said, exasperated.

"This is good, actually. If Jaune can convince Mr. Hirose to team up with him to take out the stand, he's surely gonna be fine." Said Pyrrha.

"Yeah! This guy's a huntsman, he should have no problem with this!" Nora exclaimed.

"But he still doesn't trust him, Jaune stole from him, do you really want to team up with someone who stole from you?" Ren questioned.

"If I've got no choice, yes." Pyrrha answered.

 **"Koichi!" Jaune said, trying to stop him, the smaller male kept talking.**

 **"Who's that guy collapsed at the bottom of the stairs?! What did you do to him?!" Hirose shouted as he pointed to the old man.**

 **"Hey, don't get the wrong idea! That wasn't me! That stand right there atta-" Jaune stopped when he saw that the figure was no longer there.**

"Darn it. That thing's smart too."

"That's a classic horror movie cliche right there." Yang pointed out. "Thing is there one minute, the next time they look it's gone."

 **"The wrong idea? I saw you talking to the old man! I was watching from the window!" The newly graduated huntsman pointed to the second-story window.**

"...He was watching? Oh no...this means that thing can get him too!" Blake said.

 **Jaune turned towards him, eyes wide. "You..were watching? Then...did you see the lighter being relit too?" A quick shot of the shadow of the guard rail showed the stand moving through the shadows towards Koichi.**

 **"Huh?" The huntsman was confused, what the hell was he talking about?**

 **"Don't step into the handrail's shadow, Koichi! Get out of the shadows!"**

 **In an instant, Hirose was held up by the stand's hands as it gripped Echoes ACT 3 around the neck and opened its mouth, letting the arrow out. "S-Shit!" Jaune shouted.**

 **"You saw the lighter being relit, didn't you? You have two possible paths. The first is to become a chosen one."**

 **Koichi tried to move, but the strength of the stand holding his Echoes ACT 3 stopped him from moving. "W-What's going on? Is that a stand?"**

"My goodness, that thing is that strong when it's in the shadows?"

"Wow... This is about to get real."

"How didn't Mr. Hirose see the stand when the lighter was relit?" Ren questioned, his friends were also unsure, unable to give him an answer.

 **"Your only other path is death."** **The arrow got closer to ACT 3. Koichi's eyes went wide.**

 **"This arrow is..."**

 **"Gold Experience!" Jaune shouted, his stand appearing in a golden light and grabbing the arrow before it could hit Hirose. Both Arc's and GE's hands cracked like glass and began bleeding. "It hurts so much...this hurts like hell, but now...it looks like I've been able to drag you into the sunlight."**

They winced once again at Jaune's injury. This fight was brutal.

 **The handrail beside Koichi slowly turned into flowering vines, the vines moved out of the way and let the sunshine shine onto the stand. It began to scream and flail about, steam bursting from its form. Jaune pointed at the being. "I turned part of the handrail into Morning Glories and let them hang down. Now you're out of the handrail's shadow!"**

"Nice! That was quick, wasn't it?" Said Ruby.

"Well...it's mostly due to the fact of Jaune's stand being so amazing and useful." Weiss responded.

"Give him some credit, Weiss-Cream! Jauney's really smart with it too!" Yang spoke.

"I wasn't saying that he wasn't smart, he does make brilliant usage of an already amazing ability."

"I feel like this is not its full potential too. It has an A in development potential, this makes it all the more dangerous." Blake concluded.

 **The mysterious black stand reached forward and touched the shadow of the handrail not given life, it sunk into it. "So close!" Jaune cursed his terrible luck. "There were more shadows nearby, so it managed to escape." Arc turned away. "Looks like if I drag that thing completely out into the sunlight, I might be able to win."**

"Like a vampire! Then he can be Jaune the Kinda Black Vampire Thing Slayer!"

"I don't think that's a very intimidating name, Nora."

 **Koichi stood up, his heart still beating as fast as a bullet train. "W-What was...What was that stand?!" He jumped down behind Jaune.**

 **Arc turned to face the much smaller man. "As you saw, it's trying to attack us. The old man who relit this lighter was killed. Because you and I saw it being relit, we are now its targets." The boy said, staring at his bleeding hands.**

 **"That's not what I meant." The huntsman said, drawing Jaune's full attention. "That arrow...it's from _the_ bow and arrow! I didn't even know there was one in Mistral! What are you doing, Jaune Arc!? Is it because of you that another stand with the arrow appeared?!" Hirose paused and looked to his right, seeing the stand right next to him looning into the distance.**

"Why are you blaming Jaune? He had nothing to do with this!" Pyrrha defended him.

"Well...he did activate the stand..." Blake said.

"But that was part of the test! He didn't know that it worked like that! Even Mr. Koichi who's a huntsman doesn't know how that stand has an arrow inside of it!"

 **Jaune shook his head. "It'll take too long to explain everything...but I don't know anything. Do YOU know anything about that stand? And what about the arrow?" He asked, fully focused on defeating the enemy.**

 **"Why did you save me?" Koichi asked suddenly.**

 **Arc turned to him. "Telling me about the arrow is more important! The sun's going to set!"**

 **Hirose violently jabbed at him with a finger. "Why did you save me?! Don't assume I owe a thief like you anything!"**

"Here we go again.." Blake sighed.

"Can't he see that they're both in danger?! Jaune saved his life because he's a good person!" Ruby said.

"He is kinda justified in being suspiscious...Jaune did steal all his belongings earlier." Spoke Weiss.

"Yes, but they're both fighting something here! This is not the time to be having a little lover's quarrel!" Yang Exclaimed.

 **Jaune was about to respond, but he saw that Koichi was not gonna drop it. The boy looked down. "The lighter being lit was because of something that I did. There was nothing I could've done for that old man. I feel awful about it. I believe what I did was right, but I can't help feeling dark and gross inside."**

"I think everybody here would too." Said Ren.

 **Arc's expression set into one of golden determination. "But despite that, _I, Jaune Arc, have a dream that I believe to be right._ "**

Pyrrha's face resembled a tomato once again.

"He's been going on about that dream of his a lot these past few "episodes". He's almost becoming a politician." Weiss joked.

 **Koichi sighed before looking at the stand. "Five years ago, I was shot with a stand arrow and gained my ability. If the person shot with the arrow doesn't awaken their stand ability, they will die. I wasn't strong enough to actually get my own stand, and would have died. But my best friend had a stand that he was born with, he was capable of healing my wound and kept me alive."**

"So he wasn't strong enough to survive the arrow, interesting." Said Blake.

"He did manage to become a huntsman after that, so I guess short-stack over here had some big character development." Yang responded.

"Who saved him, though?" Weiss asked.

"Must've been one of his huntsman friends too!" Ruby answered.

"The stand name is Echoes ACT 3, I suppose it's not too far-fetched to say that he had an ACT 1 and ACT 2 aswell." Pyrrha joined in.

"That does make sense, his stand is probably at its peak." Spoke Ren.

 **'Awaken to the ability?' Jaune thought. 'That's it! That's what it meant by "the chosen one"! Someone who's stand awakened!' He looked down at the lighter on his hands. 'And that must be the motive to Polpo's test!'**

"Yep! Took you a little bit to figure out didn't it, Fearless Leader? Pyrrha and Blakey did it much earlier~."

"Well...Me and Pyrrha aren't the ones in a life or death situation here."

 **Koichi continued. "I don't know the actual origins of the arrow, but I've met a stand very similar to this one before. It's a long-distance remote-controlled stand!"**

"He seems to know about the subject." Said Ren.

"Probably from personal experience." Pyrrha deducted.

 **Jaune tilted his head, looking between Koichi and the stand. "Long-distance and remote-controlled?"**

 **"It can only carry out simple commands, but it won't stop attacking until it's fulfilled its motive. Our best option is to find the user and take them down!"**

"Yeah...I don't think that's gonna happen," Said Ruby. "The user is...about 2 miles away...and he's Jaune's instructor too...and he's also in a prison..."

 **Arc glared at the stand. "Sadly, that's not going to be an option. The user is in a jail cell, we can't get to him." Hirose looked at the boy, wondering how he knew that. "Anyways, that thing won't be able to leave the school building's shadow, so let's head into the sunlight while it's available. Then, before the sun goes down, we'll lure it into the shadow of something that can move, and then we'll get rid of that shadow. That way, we can drag it into the sunlight." Jaune explained his plan to Koichi before running off towards the other side of the street, he spotted a moped.**

"Once a leader, always a leader." Pyrrha said, her eyes shining.

"Yep! That is a plan and a half! I wish I could boss around a huntsman like that!" Spoke Ruby.

"Jauney-boy coming in with the 200 IQ plans." Yang teased, or was it praised?

"This one's actually good though."

"I know, Blakey. I wasn't joking, believe or not."

"I can't really tell with you anymore."

 **"Got it!" Koichi said as he followed the taller but younger man. He turned his head over his shoulder to see how much time of sun they had left, he saw that the stand was gone. "I-It's gone!"**

 **Above Hirose, two crows flew over the sky.**

 **Jaune kept running, and as he reached the sidewalk, the stand burst from the shadow of a tree and caught Jaune's ankle, knocking him to the floor. "I've got you!"**

"Oh no! How'd it do that?" Ruby questioned.

"It must've traveled through the shadows of the crows!" Pyrrha concluded.

"I thought this thing was supposed to be dumb!" Spoke Nora.

 **"Wh-What!?" Arc shouted before he was violently slammed on the ground. The lighter fell and hit the ground, bouncing a couple of meters away, luckily the flame was still lit.**

 **"You saw the lighter being relit, didn't you?"**

 **Koichi looked around, trying to find how it got to them so quickly, he figured out the method. "The crows! It hid in the shadow of the crows and moved there with them!"**

"Well...what are you doing, you dunce? Help him! You're the professional here!"

"Talking's not gonna save his life! Hurry up!" Pyrrha said, mirroring Weiss's statement.

 **"Th-This thing...It's useless!" Jaune shouted, summoning Gold Experience and attacking the stand with a barrage of kicks. The being dodged every single one, he grabbed GE's legs. "Sh-Shit! While it's in the shaws, its speed and power are much higher!" The stand opened its mouth, revealing the arrow.**

"How strong is this thing?! Jeez! It dodged every single one of Goldie's kicks!" Yang exclaimed.

"Dear Monty...what a terrifying ability." Said Ren.

"What is Mr. Hirose doing?! Jaune's going to die! DO SOMETHING!" Pyrrha screamed, almost tearing her hair out in worry.

 **"ACT 3! 3 Freeze!" Koichi shouted, using his Echoes to increase the weight of the stand's arms, causing the concrete under it to buckle and shatter. "My Echoes ACT 3's ability is to make stands, people or objects heavier."**

"Finally!" Pyrrha breathed a sigh of relief.

"So my guess was right, he does make things heavier, that can be very useful, especially with its current stats." Blake said.

"I don't think there's a real way to fight him one on one. He'll just pull you down before you can even think about attacking him." Ren commented.

"Yeah! And, from how that thing just sunk into the ground, I'd say he makes you pretty dang heavy!" Nora joined in, surprisingly.

"I bet it's super useful to kill grimm." Spoke Ruby.

 **Echoes ACT 3 spoke separately from Koichi. "I've made its hands heavier, so much that it won't be able to lift a finger from the ground."**

"Wait...his stand can speak? Does that mean that Goldie can speak too?"

"I don't think so, Yang. Stands aren't supposed to have their own personalities. I guess this one's a special case." Ren responded.

 **Jaune groaned in pain as the stand's grip tightened around his ankles, and the weight was pulling them down. A faint snap was heard before Jaune let out a yelp. Koichi gasped at the stand. "It should let go! I've made the entirety of its hands heavier! It shouldn't be able to bend his fingers anymore!"**

"Dang it! What is up with this thing?! Why is it so determined!?" Said Ruby, exasperated.

"Jaune's leg is going to break! Let go, Koichi!" Blake spoke, a bit worried about the sound she heard from Jaune's legs.

 **Arc grit his teeth in pain. "It's strong. It's determined to not let go, no matter what."**

 **"You have two possible paths."** **It opened its maw wide, the arrow came further out towards Jaune.**

 **'I-It's no use! Any damage inflicted upon the stand goes right back to the user! At this rate, Jaune's legs are going to break!' Koichi thought, he turned onto his stand "ACT 3! Undo 3 free-"**

 **"No." Jaune said, stopping Koichi in his tracks. "Don't do that, Koichi. This ability to make things heavier...don't you dare undo it. This is perfect. This is exactly the ability I was looking for!"**

"What? Jaune, your leg's going to break. Are you crazy?!" Said Pyrrha, a few tears in her eyes. "I don't want to see you hurt!"

"Calm down, P-Money. Jauney's a smart guy, I trust him." Yang reassured.

"Yeah...I'm just on edge right now."

"I know, he'll make it through this, I know he will!" The rest of her friends comforted Pyrrha aswell.

 **"But your leg's going to shatter!" A loud snap interrupted Koichi, he stopped.**

They froze. Pyrrha's began to panic, the tears came back with a vengeance. Nora and Ruby also seemed to be developing some tears aswell. The orange haired girl scooted closer to Ren by instinct.

 **A branch fell from the tree behind Jaune, before it began to rot away in the blink of an eye. "Wh-What? That tree..."**

 **The tree was growing larger. "Gold Experience is an ability that continuously gives life, so that tree continued to grow, lived the extent of its life, and is now starting to wither." Jaune said as the tree's leaves all turned brown and dropped off. It began to crack open with age.**

Ren figured it out first. He stayed silent though, to confirm his thought. Pyrrha and Blake might've been able to figure it out too, but their emotional state prevented them from thinking too deeply.

 **"Ability, but that tree's less than 10 meters away..." Koichi said, thinking of the small range of GE, until he noticed something. The small man pointed to the cracked ground. "So you got to the tree's root by digging that hole!"**

They finally caught on. Ren had a rare smirk on his face.

"Jaune...that's...Brilliant!" Pyrrha beamed, overflowing with joy and relief. She hugged Nora, who happily accepted it, a few tears rolled down her face.

"So that sound wasn't Fearless Leader's leg breaking, it was the tree branch!"

"Man, he surprises me everytime. Galaxy brain moves are now part of Vomit Boy's repetouir."

"He was always a very smart man." Said Blake.

 **Finally, the tree shattered apart, and crumbled in a cloud of dust, letting the sunlight stream onto the stand. The shadow that came from the tree and housed the spirit disappeared. It began to scream in pain, throwing its limbs around in an attempt to find another shadow.**

"Take that, you big meanie!" Ruby cheered.

"You messed with the wrong guy, I'm afraid." Weiss smugly said.

 **Koichi pumped his fist up. "Y-You did it! The shadow's gone! It's been dragged out into the daylight!"**

"Hell yeah!"

"Yang! Language!" Ruby scolded.

"Oh c'mon Rubes! Jauney's just won a fight! I have the right to celebrate! He's my friend!"

 **The enemy stand reached towards the cracked ground created by its heavy hands, and tried to reach the shadows between the concrete pieces, but Gold Experience stomped down on its hand, stopping it. It threw dust in the holes, filling them. "You told me that there were two paths, but sadly, you only have one. Koichi, could you move a little to the right?"**

"Uh Oh...are you guys feeling what I'm feeling? I'm having a One Liner Alert! One Liner incoming!" Nora said.

 **"Huh? Like this?" Koichi took a step to the right.**

 **"Hmmmmm..."**

 **Gold Experience lifted its fists and threw a barrage of powerful, bone-shattering punches into the stand. "MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!" The last hit sent the spirit flying in the air. "Bask in the sunlight. That's it. That's your one possible path." It desintegrated into nothingness soon after.**

"OHHHHHHH! Now that's a quality one-liner! A strong 10 outta 10!" Nora screamed.

"What a badass!" Yang laughed profusely. "Who would even think Vomit Boy could come up with something like that on the fly!"

"Jaune! I'm so glad..." Pyrrha said, now having fully calmed down.

"Heck yeah! Jaune, King of the Plants! That name's kinda lame actually! I'll think of something else!" Said Ruby.

"Does this mean that Polpo guy's dead?" Blake asked.

"Who knows? It is a long-distance remote-controlled stand, so there's always a possibility." Ren answered.

"Just glad Arc made it through. He seems to want this job very bad." Weiss spoke.

 **Jaune reached down and picked up the lighter, as the sun began to set behind the school building. "Still..I have to wonder if I'm able to join the gang now...What to do..." The coin scene showed up again, this time showing Polpo's stand.**

"Alright! Now that that's over with...this is Polpo's stand! Its name is Black Sabbath! It has an E in power, an A in speed, an A in range, an A in durability, an E in precision and an E in growth." Said Ruby.

"Finally a sensible name! Someone named their power something that makes sense! Thank Oum!" Spoke Weiss.

"Wow, those stats are the definition of 50/50. Didn't it kill that old guy pretty easily though?" Yang questioned.

"Well...the stand arrow it used wasn't part of Black Sabbath's body, it was a totally separate thing," Ren answered. "We never saw it do anything without the arrow, it's pretty justified."

"Yeah! All that I know was that Fearless Leader kicked its butt!"

"One of the stranger stands we've seen so far," Blake commented. "I'm not sure we'll see anything more bizarre than that."

"I'm just glad Jaune's alright, that's 2 massive fights within 2 days," Pyrrha said in relief. "Let's look on the bright side, the lighter's still on! If Polpo's still alive, Jaune will be able to pass!"

 **The camera came back with a view of the school in the evening.**

 **"That arrow..." Koichi began. "The fact that the arrow is also in Mistral means that there'll be even more victims!" He quickly ran to a nearby payscroll. "I need to call Mr. Ozpin and tell him about this!" He dialed a couple of numbers, but Jaune stopped him from completing the call, putting his finger on a switch on the payscroll, Koichi looked confused. "What are you doing?"**

 **"Did you just say there'll be more? We defeated Polpo's stand, which had the arrow, you saw it all yourself."**

"But Headmaster needs to know about this!" Ruby said.

"Eh, I don't know about this one, Rubes. That might ruin Vomit Boy's plan."

 **"Defeated? No, you've got it all wrong! I'll admit that we managed to dodge its attacks because of you, but that stand only stopped attacking because of the sunlight. The user isn't hurt at all, he's perfectly fine!"**

 **"So Polpo's alive?"**

 **"Not only that, but long-distance remote-controlled stands basically don't affect their users at all. He probably hasn't even realized there's been a battle here."**

 **"What? So you mean he doesn't realize at all? He doesn't know I'm a stand user, too?"**

 **"Jeez, chill out. If he noticed anything, it was probably his hand getting a bit heavier. He'd have no way knowing that you and I are stand users."**

"That's a relief." Blake spoke.

"Yeah, I was assuming the worst already, thank Monty everything worked out fine." Pyrrha commented.

"So...fatty doesn't realize that Fearless Leader let the flame go out?"

"Yes, Nora. This means that Jaune is going to pass the test if nothing else happens."

"I think you might want to hold on to that thought, Ren. Arc has had some comically bad luck these past couple of episodes." Said Weiss.

"That's what I've been saying! Jauney's been real cursed these days." Yang responded.

"I think he's doing alright, though! Considering the...you know...state his life has been." Ruby joined in.

 **Jaune's finger was still on the button in the payscroll, preventing Koichi from using it. "Hey, can you move your finger?" The huntsman asked.**

 **"Sorry, but I still can't let you make your call," Hirose looked at the boy, surprised. "I'm begging you...this isn't just one enemy, it's an entire organization. If you tell someone, they will find out about it."**

 **"Enemy? Organization?"**

 **Jaune sighed. "I'll tell you, and only you, Mr. Koichi..."**

 **There was a small time skip. The subtitle showed "the next day".**

"I guess even we don't get to know." Said Ren.

"He probably told him about his plan." Blake responded.

"I don't get it, though? Why shouldn't he want help from Headmaster Ozpin?" Ruby asked.

"Well...Jauney's dealing with some real shady stuff here, if headmaster tries to do something and crap hits the fan, it'll be a full on war." Yang answered.

"The Mistralian people also won't be too pleased. Passione's been a thorn on our backs ever since I can remember, they have too much power over the kingdom. If a war breaks out between everyone involved, it won't be very pretty." Pyrrha explained.

"The negativity might also attract Grimm to the area, making the bloodshed even bigger," Weiss joined in. "In summary, calling Ozpin and telling him about this is a very dumb move."

 **As the camera panned in to the prison, it showed Jaune putting the lighter on the cell counter. It was still lit. He looked over to the side and Polpo was nowhere to be seen.**

"Where'd fatty go? On that thought, how'd he go?" Yang asked.

"Does...would he even get time outside?" Weiss questioned.

"Probably not. If I were that large, I would just stay there." Pyrrha answered.

 **"Someone ordered me a special pizza." The demonic voice belonging to the Capo himself rang out. He bit through what looked to be a part of the wall, his mouth was now visible. He began to suck the "pizza" in to his body like a milkshake, he swallowed the whole thing soon after. The Capo had a moment of silence, then he burped.**

"Uuurgh... Disgusting!" Weiss leaned away from the rest and dry heaved.

"Woah! Watch the boots Vomit Girl!" Yang shouted as she picked up her legs away from the heiress.

"Oh, don't you start!" She growled. "Did you see that disgusting display of gluttony?!"

Ren leaned to put a hand on Weiss's shoulder. "I think they're trying to forget it." He said sagely, with Nora nodding violently beside him.

Weiss sighed and went back to watching.

 **Jaune had an unreadable expression on his face.**

 **"Sorry to keep you waiting, let's see... You were...Jaune-Jaune...uh..." Polpo tried to remember as he opened his minifridge to get more snacks. He grabbed an apple and a banana.**

"Hey! Only we're allowed to call Jaune-Jaune, Jaune-Jaune!" Nora shouted, standing up in her chair.

"Nora, please." Ren said, patting his totally-not-girlfriend's leg, causing her to pout and sit down. She turned away from him and grumbled angrily.

"Am I allowed to call him Jaune-Jaune?" Ruby asked shyly, getting a hesitant nod from Nora. The reaper sat back in her chair, mentally fist pumping.

 **"Jaune Arc."**

 **"Ah, yes. Sorry about that," He began peeling a banana. "My head goes blank when I eat," He bit on the apple. "Perhaps it's because all the blood goes to my stomach."**

"I'm surprised the blood could even _go_ to your stomach." Blake joked.

Yang and Ruby snickered, prompting an eye roll from Weiss.

 **Arc looked on, a very slightly disgusted expression on his face. He looked at the fruits on his minifridge. "This might sound sudden, but are you a religious person, Jaune?" The Capo closed the fridge.**

"Pyrrha!" Yang screamed, causing the redhead to jump in her seat.

"Y-Yes?"

"Is Vomit Boy religious?" She asked, everyone looked at Pyrrha intensely.

She cowed under the looks. "Um...I don't think so."

Hesitantly, everyone went back to watching.

 **"I'm not sure...I'm not very passionate about it." Jaune responded, Polpo hummed in acknowledgement.**

 **"What I'm about to say right now may contradict Monty Oum's teachings, but I'd like you to listen carefully," He began. "If the most important thing in the world is trust, the most despicable thing you can do is insult someone," The Capo explained. "Listen well...to insult or betray someone's trust not only hurts their reputation, but puts them in a very sticky situation." Jaune held a cold glare on his face while Polpo talked.**

"Well, he's not wrong." Weiss commented. "If my father just let everyone's insults go and didn't do anything about it, his reputation would very quickly drain and we would begin to lose business."

"Really? Just like that?" Nora asked, slightly jumping in her chair, stopping when Ren asked her to.

"Well...you have to respond to criticism carefully, otherwise you'll just make everything worse." The Schnee explained.

"Ooooooh, I get it...I don't get it."

Weiss huffed and turned back to the screen.

 **"We will not fight others or risk our lives over money, power, or having our seats taken at the theater or at the bus," The obese man went on. "Fighting is truly foolish, only idiots bother with it." He brought his hand up and pointed at Jaune.**

 **"But... I will risk my life over being insulted. I believe that Monty Oum forgives even murder." Jaune still held that cold, calculating look on his eye. "Don't ever forget that."**

"Uh...Is Vomit Boy alright?" Yang asked, tilting her head as she looked at his face.

"He's probably just trying to remain calm, he might be paranoid that Polpo knows." Blake answered.

"Jaune-Jaune'll be fine!" Nora said, waving her hands dismissively.

 **"Congratulations! I will officially allow you to join the organization!" Polpo cheered, changing his mood almost instantly. "You brought me the lighter still lit, as you promised you would." The man reached and picked something on his jacket. It was a badge. Polpo flicked it over to the other side of the cell counter.**

 **"That's our Passione organization badge. It proves that you passed." Arc walked over to where it was. "You'll be working under Bucciarati for a while." Polpo sipped on his wine, ignoring everything else but the delicious drink.**

"Eh, I'm more of a Strawberry Sunrise girl myself." Yang shrugged.

"Yang! You are not old enough to drink!" Weiss scolded.

"Whaaaat? Did I say Strawberry Sunrise? No, no, no, I meant...um...People Like Grapes?" She tried and failed to deflect the blame.

The heiress's glare grew harder and stronger, causing Yang to sweat under the intimidating stare. Suddenly, Ruby smacked Weiss in the face as the caped girl stood up. "Oh my gosh! That means Jaune-Jaune'll be with Bucciarati!"

Nora began crying. "HE'S REPLACING US!"

Ren reached out and hugged her. "No he's not. Just because he has more friends doesn't mean he'll forget about us. Remember, he keeps a picture of us in his wallet, he still cares."

Nora bounced back almost immediately.

 **Jaune was about to pick it up, but something popped up on his mind, while Polpo was busy with his wine, the blond boy had Gold Experience do something, the signature sound of the stand was heard. He reached his hand over to the minifridge, the secret counter with the guns was also visible. Polpo finished his drink.**

"Umm...remember how you said he was just paranoid?" Said Yang, turning towards Blake. "I think you're wrong."

 **"How about it, why don't we celebrate your-" Polpo didn't finish the sentence. Jaune was already walking away. The man huffed.**

 **'Did that brat really keep the lighter lit for 24 hours? Or did he relight it and become a stand user? _Bufu,_ I couldn't care less about that. Young, clueless guys like him are easy to use. Either way, we can use him however we want.'**

 **It showed Jaune repeating the produce he went through the previous day, body checks and all. Polpo chuckled, he noticed the fridge was open.**

"What did Jaune-Jaune do?" Nora questioned as she turned to Ren, who began to narrow his eyes, same as Blake.

 **"Oh? I could've sworn I closed that..." He looked at the fridge, there was one extra banana there, he didn't seem to notice. "I suppose all the blood goes to my stomach after I've eaten." He closed it.**

 **Jaune walked out of the prison, he turned around and gave it an unreadable look. Next to him was Koichi.**

"Oh, Koichi's here?" Ruby said.

 **"You met him again?" Ozpin's voice was heard.**

Nora gasped. "He's not going to tell, is he?"

Ren calmed her down. "I'm sure he won't."

 **"I'm sorry, Headmaster. I can't help thinking that he, Jaune Arc, might not be as special as you think he is." Koichi lied.**

Yang reached out and poked Pyrrha in the side, causing the girl to pout.

 **"Why do you say that?"**

 **"Well...I'll tell you that in person. Is that alright?" Ozpin had a short moment of silence.**

"See?" Ren held his hand out towards the screen. Seeing Nora nod, he went back to watching properly.

 **"Yes, I suppose so. If that's what you choose to do, then it's fine. I'll be waiting."**

 **"Thank you very much. I'll talk to you later." He turned off the payscroll. Koichi began to think.**

 **'Headmaster, back then, I used to think, does this kid really admire that? Is he sane? But...I can feel it...I can feel that he has a righteous heart. I can tell...because I've observed countless true leaders before, people that exude righteousness from their hearts, as if it were their life energy.'**

 **'I could see the same thing in his eyes. Without a doubt, the blood that he flows in his veins carry the will of a hero, a true leader, so I'm going to keep this to myself, just like he asked...'**

 **'The _Golden Dream_ that Jaune Arc possesses.' He looked up at the clouds and saw Jaune Arc, his hair fabulously moving.**

"Not as good as my hair." Yang boasted, getting a glare from Nora.

"Fearless Leader's hair is the greatest hair in the world!"

Yang gasped and held a hand over her chest. "You take that back!"

"Never!"

 **"Well then, maybe I'll do some sightseeing!" Hirose ran off. There was another timeskip. The screen read "the next day".**

"Hey, Pyrrha?" Ruby called out.

"Yes?"

"Do you think we can visit Jaune in Mistral later?" Ruby asked, a small blush present on her face.

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes a bit after seeing that, but soon calmed down. There was no way Ruby could like Jaune...right? "Sure, after we get back home, we'll all head down to Mistral to see him."

Ruby threw her hands up in the air. "Yaaay~!"

 **Jaune showes his Passione badge to Bruno, who couldn't help but crack a smile. "Come with me, Jaune Arc." He beckoned, Jaune obliged, following him through the streets.**

 **The scene came back to Polpo, he was humming a song while peeling a banana. The sound of a firearm loading was heard, the Capo looked around, confused. "What was that noise? Well...whatever." He bit on the banana.**

Blake slammed her hand down on the armrest, prompting everyone to look at her. Her eyes were wide and sweat was starting to come out in bullets. She could never forget that sound.

 **'When someone insults you, even murder is forgivable?' Jaune's thoughts could be heard as he followed Bucciarati. 'I see. What you told me is very important,' The look on his face became colder and colder by the second. 'You insulted that innocent old man's life.'**

"No, Jaune! Don't!" Blake shouted.

"Yo, Blake...what's wrong?" Yang asked, reaching out and grabbing her partner by the shoulder.

 **Polpo bit down on the banana, but found it too hard to chew on. It slowly proceeded to reveal its true form. It was a gun, his finger just so happened to be pressing down on the trigger of said gun.**

"Oh..." Yang said slowly.

Everyone began to piece it together.

 **'So I changed one of your guns into a banana.' Jaune stopped and looked back, a horrifyingly cold expression on his face. ' _You should savor your last meal as best as you can.'_**

Ruby quickly hid under her cloak.

Ren threw his arms around Nora's head, blocking her sight.

Pyrrha stared, unblinkingly forward.

Yang and Weiss were frozen to the spot.

Blake was reliving some...rather tense moments from her life.

 **The trigger was pulled. His brains splattered across the cell walls, Black Sabbath could be seen coming out of his body, he fell to the ground, the arrow could also be found. It was broken, on the floor. Polpo had died. The camera panned back to Jaune.**

Ruby yelped and jumped at the sound of the gunshot, sobbing underneath her cloak.

Yang would normally be all over her sister...but seeing Vomit Boy, the nerd who she always saw as harmless, just kill a man? She couldn't do anything but stare at Polpo's corpse.

Blake covered her ears with her hands, _his face_ coming up in her mind.

Nora cried for real, an unstoppable wave of tears. Her Fearless Leader was just like the Grimm. Killing with no feeling. Just pure, cold death. This was the second time she had ever been this scared in her life.

Ren's face was stone. He and Nora turned grey as his semblance washed over them. Nora slowly stopped crying, her emotions being muffled. Now that he could think properly, he knew why Jaune did it. He still didn't like it.

Weiss shivered in her seat, eyes closed. The gunshot ringing through her head. She always saw Jaune as a dork, a scraggly blond dork, but a lovable scraggly blond dork. She wanted the old Jaune back, the one who tried to serenade her with crappy songs and was like a lost puppy...not this murderer.

Pyrrha's face paled, her eyes went wide. She couldn't look away. She stared at the bleeding wound on Polpo's head, and remembered the stone cold gaze of her crush. It just...didn't fit. She refused to believe that he would do that.

 **"So, where are we going?"**

 **"I'll introduce you to my team. They're all stand users."**

 **There was a quick shot of everyone, diplaying all of the people on Bruno's crew. The episode ended.**

This time, they didn't turn on the next episode immediately. There were various emotions running through their heads, some were emotional, some were frozen in shock, some were reliving past memories. A solid 5 minutes of this passed until Yang finally got to her senses.

"That...ASSHOLE! HOW DARE HE? LOOK WHAT HE JUST DID TO RUBY!" Her eyes were red, her hair was flaming, she was royally pissed.

They stayed silent. Pyrrha's mind was going at 500 miles an hour. Blake was completely out of it, still holding her ears, the world seemed to disappear. Yang finally hugged Ruby with all her might.

"You know...I think we should stop," Weiss now said. "He's clearly not the person we knew...I know you all wanted to see how he was doing, well...I guess he's gonna be just fine."

"I agree with Weiss." Yang said, still holding Ruby who was buried in her cloak.

"No, are you crazy!? We can't do that! The man said that he wants us to watch it, so that's what we're gonna do!" Pyrrha suddenly shouted.

"Pyrrha he just killed a man! You're the one who's crazy here! Are you serious!?" Yang retorted, releasing Ruby. "Look at everybody! Everyone's terrified!" She pointed at a gray Nora who had Ren by her side, he had an unreadable look on his face. "And you're telling me we should keep watching him just because he's your boy toy? Gimme a break!" She noticed Blake and reached out to her. "You okay, girl?"

Tears flowed freely down the faunus's face, she seemed to regain her senses. "Th-that w-was s-s-so..." She sobbed lightly, "J-just l-like..."

"Shhh, don't worry. It's fine, you're good." Yang said. She was gonna put a hand on Blake's shoulder, but she imagined physical contact wasn't something her partner wanted right now. "We're gonna find a way out of this place."

"No! Please! I beg you, Yang!" Pyrrha exclaimed, almost in complete desperation. "I know what Jaune did was bad, but...please don't think about him that way! Please, I know he's still the same boy!"

"Sure didn't look like it!"

Weiss joined in. "If you excuse me Pyrrha, your feelings for Jaune Arc do not serve as an excuse to defend him, he just murdered a man in cold blood."

"Jaune's not the selfless hero you want him to be, Pyrrha. But...they do say love is blind..."

"Hey! I know what he did, yes, it was bad! But I'm just asking you all to not judge him based on this!"

Xiao Long chuckled darkly. "Yeah, right. If it was any other person, you'd be crucifying them. Your little crush is a a piece of shit, and you just can't admit it, can you?"

A tiny voice rang out almost silently from her cloak. "Please stop..."

"He is a lying..."

"Stop..."

"Murdering..."

"Please..."

"PIECE OF SHIT!"

"YANG!" Ruby screamed, tears flowed down her face. "Stop saying this about him! Please! I beg you!" Yang froze.

"R-Rubes?"

"Dammit, stop! He's still a good guy! I...I..." Ruby said, Yang froze even more as she heard the swear word come out of her sister's mouth.

A wave of grey hit them. Ren finally had enough. "Stop this, all of you. Listen to me." Blake and Ruby's tears began to run out, so did Yang and Pyrrha's temper.

"Blake, I know it must be hard for you, witnessing something like that, something that's probably so familiar to you. Well...guess what? It was familiar to me too. The expression on Jaune's face gave me some memories about something I wish I couldn't ever remember again. He reminded me of something that ruined my life, but..." He stood up. "I want you all to give him another chance. Jaune Arc is a flawed person, just as you put it, Yang. But he's still my brother, I know he wouldn't do that without an objective. I want you all to give him what his parents never gave him, as the TV said..."

"I want you to give him a chance, a second chance." He said. "I say this knowing that he might've traumatized my best friend. She's not forgiving him anytime soon. You people shouldn't either if you don't want to, but...I want to keep watching it. Who's currently with me?"

"I am." Ruby and Pyrrha said.

"We're not." Weiss said, speaking for Blake and Yang too.

Ren turned to Nora and put on his best brave face. "What about you, Nora?"

She sniffled. "I...don't know." Ren put an arm on her shoulder. "I'm...that was...Fearless Leader...I don't know if I can even call him that anymore, he just..."

"I know, Nora."

"But...I want to believe. I want to see if he really is my Fearless Leader, if he's still the person I believe him to be. I want to continue."

"That makes 4 to 3. Yang, Blake, Weiss...are you fine with this?"

"I want to say something to you, Ren. I've known somebody who was just like what Jaune is right now. I'll watch it, but I won't forgive him, not anytime soon." Blake said.

"Well...Vomit Boy's in the doghouse with me, but I guess I'll continue too."

"I am apalled and disgusted at Jaune Arc's actions, but because I care for my teammates and I want to see them happy, I'll continue." Ren's semblance deactivated.

"Okay, everyone, take a break. We'll resume in about 15 minutes." Ren said, he went to Nora.

"Jeez, that was intense..." Ruby said. She looked towards the TV. "Jaune..."

"Jaune..." Pyrrha said.

"Please still be the person I know you are." Said Ruby.

"Please still be the boy I fell in love with." Said Pyrrha

* * *

 **AND THAT'S ALL OF IT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Thank you all for the patience, seriously. Guikoi once again being a HUGE HELP, he'll do next chapter's author's note, probably. Biggest chapter yet, I wonder if I'll ever do something this big for this story again. Gang boys next chapter, stay tuned.**

 **This is Kyraptor, signing off.**

 **Chapter Status: RETIRED**


	5. Find Polpo's Fortune!

AN: **Hello! How's** **everyone doing this fine day? Kyraptor here, bringing you guys another chapter of this. Got a lot of reviews to answer, so I'll keep this one short. Please do feel free to review, it helps a ton.**

 ***All the cities in this are the same as actual Italy, the only different one is Naples that became Argus.**

 **Reviews:**

 **camdawg: Thank you! Well...they aren't exactly their volume 5-6 selves yet, they're not really used to this sort of stuff yet.**

 **MoltenHero: Thank you very much! Ren is very underrated, the guy's one of my favorites!**

 **EvilMagicman: Thanks! Hope you enjoy this one too.**

 **dandyrr0403: Alright. Thank you very much.**

 **Za Warudo(both comments): Thank you! Really glad to see you stick around, I promise you won't be disappointed.**

 **CrimsonLotus21: Thank you, I really love these sorts of reviews. They almost always mean that the readers are very engaged in the story, hope you stick around!**

 **8-bit pirate: Thank you, they probably wouldn't, but...maybe they would, who knows? Well... I do, but you will too! This very chapter in fact!**

 **darkraizerGx1: I think Grimm can be considered living beings, though I don't know if Jaune can create them, but...probably not. Thanks for the review.**

 **Guest(commenting about Ruby's crush): I'm assuming this is the same person so I'll put it on a single answer...not yet, poor girl's still got something on her heart** **.**

 **Guest(commenting about Jaune's motives): Well...Jaune/Giorno didn't kill Polpo because of "saving innocent lives", he killed him because he felt he was insulted by what Polpo did to the old man.**

 **reven228: Thank you, we'll figure out that guy's situation in the future, if you've got some ideas you think could work, shoot me a PM.**

 **Maestro of Madness: Don't worry about it, I've got this. Hope you stick around!**

 **Kamencolin: Aw...it is a manga reader only reference, so maybe you just haven't seen it yet!**

 **KRKing: I'M SORRY, OKAY? KYRAPTOR FORGOT!**

 **ArchaicPhenominon: They're about to embark on a real wild ride, or a "bizarre adventure" as some would say.**

 **EnriksD8: Thank you! You're probably about to get your wish!**

 **Greer123: Thanks, man. Hope you're doing well too.**

 **darkthiefX: It's fine, don't worry about it! I've got this, as the great Parappa the Rapper once said..."You just have to believe!"**

 **Ultimate Kuuga: She's about to have a real surprise ahead of her, thank you!**

 **Guest(asking about Jaune after the ending): Who knows? You have to wait and find out!**

 **Guest(the one that asked about Yang, Blake and Weiss): Well...we're not really close to that point yet. We'll just have to wait and find out.**

 _ **OPEN THE GAME!**_

* * *

They wandered around the room for a bit.

Ren talked to Nora about Jaune and what he did.

Ruby was getting some snacks for her and her friends, she grabbed a couple of ice-cream bowls.

Pyrrha mostly stayed on the couch until she decided to approach Yang.

Yang apologized for the things she said to Pyrrha, an apology that the champion accepted. She then also did the same to Ruby, who in return gave her some ice-cream.

Blake and Weiss joined the trio.

Weiss exclaimed that, even though it got pretty tense between all of them, there were no hard feelings. Blake agreed with her, and so did Pyrrha, Yang and Ruby.

Ren went to them, Nora by his side.

"Are you guys ready?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think everyone here's ready to go." Yang responded, her friends and teammates nodded in confirmation.

"Alright, Nora?"

"I...am, too." She sniffled.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Renny."

"Okay, get back to your seats everyone." They obliged, Ren put the next episode on.

 **Bruno's voice rang out over a large picture showing all the different sects of Passione. "Passione is a pretty big organization. First, there are groups made of six to ten underlings, like my team. Then there are Capos like Polpo who command those teams. They reign over a particular region, making it their turf. These teams include specialty teams, such as an assassination squad and a drug team. Despite being from the same gang, I really don't want to involve myself with those teams or their capos. And the one who stands at the top is The Boss. The Boss only has contact with the trusted subordinate he considers his right hand man. We have no way of knowing who or where he is."**

"Wow, that's quite a system." Weiss commented.

"Well...he wouldn't be the boss of the biggest gang in Mistral if he wasn't an f'n genius. Also, I noticed that pun Mr. Sticky Man." Yang said, seemingly back to being herself.

"So...now Jaune's in Bruno's team?" Nora asked.

"Yes, he is." Blake answered.

"Okay, but isn't Polpo, their capo...kinda dead? Who's gonna command them?"

"I honestly have no idea, Nora."

 **Bruno continued to speak, this time on a slideshow of people going about their day. "Gang members in this city hate standing out, as it can quickly lead to their assassination."**

"I suppose that's not the case for you, Mr. Bucciarati...given the way you dress." Pyrrha half-joked.

 **"So even Capos will dress normally to blend in with the crowd, and some even have cover jobs. That goes double for our boss. He won't reveal his identity to anyone. If we go snooping around, we're detected immediately. I know plenty of guys this has happened to."**

"Oum knows what happens to the people who try to find out that man's identity." Ren spoke.

"Don't even want to think about that." Blake responded.

 **Bruno stopped and faced his newest subordinate. "So, Jaune, in order for us to get close to our mysterious boss, we need to be acknowledged. We can't defeat The Boss unless we earn the acknowledgement and trust of someone close to the boss. So first, we're going to get stronger. We have to climb up to the position of Capo. Of course, the two of us can't do that alone. A team we can trust...that's what we'll need to defeat the boss." The opening began playing.**

The second they heard Jaune was joining a another team, they turned to Nora. She didn't have the reaction they'd been expecting, the girl simply sighed. This worried Ren, a lot.

"Right, so...they're gonna climb up the ranks of the gang. We're about to meet Bruno's team, hopefully they're not a bunch of delinquents." Weiss said, changing the subject.

"They'll have cool powers, so I guess that's a plus." Ruby added.

"Hopefully 'cool' powers that don't have sexual innuendos in their name, too." The white-haired girl spoke.

"I don't know, Weiss-Cream...maybe you do like some Sticky Fingers once in a while?" Yang teased, the heiress's face went crimson. She punched Yang in the left breast.

"You heathen!" Yang went on all fours in pain.

"Ow...now that was uncalled for," Xiao Long managed to say. "Just cause mine are big and ours aren't doesn't give you the right to punch them..."

"Do you want me to do one for the right too?!"

"Nope, I'll stay quiet! Pinky swear!"

"Good!"

 ** _FIGHTING GOLD!_**

 **Once the opening finished, the narrator spoke up over a view of Mistral from space. 'The news of the incarcerated Polpo's death spread amongst the other Capos.'**

They squirmed a bit hearing about this. It still made them a bit uncomfortable.

 **Three people who were sitting down and eating on a restaurant were speaking. "According to our intelligence team, it might've been suicide."**

 **The other one huffed. "That's not his style."**

 **Another three men were seen as two men held another by his arms in the background. "Polpo was in a special cell. Murder isn't possible." He said as he pulled out a gun.**

 **Another shrugged. "Maybe he was planning to betray the boss."**

 **The first one shook his head as he looked over the gun. "There aren't many Capos as trustworthy as him. That's even less believable." He said, pointing the gun at the man who was being held, causing him to scream in fear.**

Blake growled. "Monster..."

Weiss let out a huff. "Oh, what horrible people reside in this world."

"Looks like Jaune's started with a bang. Literally and figuratively." Yang said.

"He did get people to talk about him...although not about HIM in particular." Ruby responded.

 **Just before the shot, two men in a clothes shop were whispering to each other. "More importantly..."**

 **"Yeah...the problem is his sucessor." A man said before looking over to his girlfriend, who came out of the changing room, he gave her an "ok" hand gesture.**

 **The screen went to Rome*( Check the AN), at 10:05 AM.**

 **"I just heard that the Capos are freaking out. Apparently, Polpo comitted suicide." A man with orange hair and a pink shirt that cut out at the bottom said.**

 **"Huh?" A man with bright green hair shaped like a zucchini dangling off his head said. They were in a car, he was the driver and the man with the pink shirt was a passenger.**

"Jeez, that is not a good hair day." Nora said.

"More like the worst hair day." Yang responded, disgusted.

 **"Hey! Watch where you're going!" The orange guy warned.**

 **"I'm fine." The green man responded, although the car was swerving to the side slightly.**

Pyrrha began to feel irritated, she'd seen a lot of bad drivers in her kingdom, this one wasn't any different.

 **"Suicide? That fatso?" Just before the car hit another one it swerved back onto the road properly, causing the vehicle it almost hit to panic and crash into a different one.**

"What an A-hole! Pay attention when you drive!" Yang exclaimed.

"I hope those poor other people are alright." Said Ruby.

"Stupid, mindless, gangster." Weiss spoke.

 **"I told you to watch where you're going!" The orange person sighed and went back to speaking. "So I dunno if Polpo was sad because he was in prison or if his obesity made him depressed, but he apparently wasn't very strong mentally. He put his gun in his mouth and blew his brains out."**

Ren cringed. "That's...not really what happened."

 **The green-haired man looked back to the orange one. "You sure it was suicide and not murder?"**

 **"It was suicide, for sure. From the...autopsy, they call it? Any expert can tell if it was suicide or murder. Hey, there's a light up ahead." The car stopped for a moment.**

"He managed to fool the entire gang at once, dear Oum." Blake commented.

"Even the autopsy people didn't figure it out, makes you wonder how long he thought about doing it." Yang responded.

 **"More importantly, have you heard the rumors about Polpo's fortune?"**

This caught the attention of the teens.

"His fortune? Hm, okay then. Stay quiet everyone, I want to hear about this." Pyrrha spoke.

 **"Rumors? I don't know where the end of the universe is, and I don't know jack about that, either."**

"That's an...odd analogy to make." Ren said, only to be shushed by his friends.

 **"Before Polpo went to prison, he converted some of his fortune into jewels and gold and hid them somewhere. He has a hidden stash. It's too much to even deposit in the bank, and he kept it secret from the organization. No one was stupid enough to look for it while he was alive. But now that he's dead, that money doesn't belong to anyone. It's free money, said to be worth about 5 billion lien." That got the green man's attention.**

"5 BILLION?! YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! LET'S FIND A WAY OUTTA THIS PLACE AND LOOK FOR IT RIGHT NOW YOU GUYS!" Yang screamed.

"Eh, not up for it. Someone's probably found it already." Nora responded, Yang gasped.

"EVEN YOU, NORA?!"

"She's not really herself right now, give her some time." Ren joined.

 **"Five billion?" He looked away and chuckled. "If I had that much money, I'd be heading into Vale or Menagerie with a girl on each arm."**

"Not sure you'd be very welcome in Menagerie, to be honest." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah..." Blake sorrowfully responded.

 **The orange one shook his head. "Nah, I'd rather work my way up. If I can climb to Capo with that money, I can taste honey that's even sweeter. But who knows where it's hidden..."**

 **"No one knows?"**

 **"Nah, and this is what I'm thinking...Polpo was such a fatty, he couldn't even go outside on his own. Do you think he could hide a fortune worth five billion on his own? He must've had somebody else do it for him." The light went green, the car began to drive again. "Someone who's good at keeping their mouth shut...though I'm not sure a person like that actually exists, Polpo liked Bucciarati."**

Ruby gasped. "He knows Bruno?"

"Probably, this is a gang. A big one, but they're all still criminals at the end of the day, criminals have a way of knowing each other." Weiss explained.

"Do you think Bruno knows where the lien is?" Yang asked.

"I honestly don't doubt it. Polpo must've really liked Mr. Bucciarati. So much so that he took Jaune in based on his request," Ren answered. "If there's a person that has the knowledge of where it is, it'd probably be him."

 **"Bucciarati? That's one of the thugs from Argus, right?"**

"Hey! He's not a thug! He's a very respectable human being!" Ruby defended.

 **"Yeah, and if anyone could've hidden it, it's him. Now that Polpo's dead, Bucciarati should be making his move...to get the five billion lien that's just been freed up. I'm sure even Bucciarati wants that money." The orange-haired person said, before looking to the green guy and finding him no longer there. "Hey, Zucchero!"**

"Wait, what? He just dipped like that?" Said Yang.

"He must be pretty fast." Blake commented.

 **The car began to go wildly out of control, the orange man grabbed the steering wheel and managed to regain control, stopping it from crashing. "That bastard Zucchero actually left! Did he seriously believe that? If you're actually going to trail Bucciarati, I'd be careful. Apparently, he and his subordinates are Stand Users."**

"Kinda like most of the gang already are, you dummy!" Nora said, a bit more energy in her words this time. This made Pyrrha and Ren happy.

 **The scene changed to Argus, at 11:26AM. The camera entered a restaurant. Four people were on the table.**

 **"Hey, Fugo...it's such a nice day outside. It wouldn't hurt to skip out on studying for one day..." A person said.**

 **All of Bucciarati's team members were shown.**

 **First was a tall man of slim build. He wore a long, dark overcoat that covered most of his body, the chest area being opened. His most defining features were his long, white hair, his yellow and purple eyes and his purple lipstick. He wore the letter 'A' on his belt. He was listening to something on a pair of headphones.**

 **Secondly was what looked to be a short female, it wore a black shirt that highlighted its abs and reached out towards their neck. The lower half of their body was covered by an orange skirt, it wore a bandana on its head. It was holding a notebook.**

 **Third was a tall man with a fit build, he wore a black and orange turtleneck crop top and tiger striped pants. The man had a book on his hand.**

 **Lastly, there was a boy with dark blond hair. He was wearing an odd light green suit that was covered in holes. His other most noticeable trait was his strawberry clad tie. He was shirtless underneath it.**

"Woah! Somebody call the fashion police, there's a couple of felonies coming through! Especially on that blond one!" Yang said.

"Where's Coco when you need her..." Ruby continued.

"So, this is his team...interesting." Ren spoke.

 **"I'm just not feeling it today..." The "girl" said. A waiter came to the man clad in blue and bowed.**

 **"Thank you for waiting, here's your strawberry cake." He set down a plate with 4 slices of cake in it.**

Ruby licked her lips. "I wouldn't mind some of that right now."

Yang nodded. "Once we get out, we'll see about it."

 **Fugo sighed. "Listen, Narancia." He said before putting a hand on their shoulder. "You're amazing. It's hard to ask someone to teach you something when you haven't even been to grade school. You even learned your multiplication tables! You can do this, just as I've taught you." Fugo said caringly, like an older brother, but younger. "You've got a good head on your shoulders."**

Weiss nodded. "This Fugo seems smart, and caring...his dress sense could be a bit better though."

 **"Okay, ready? What's six times five?" He held up a notebook with the equation on it.**

"Thirty!" Ruby held up her hands.

 **Narancia looked at it and mumbled something underneath their breath. "Six times five...six times five...thirty?"**

 **"Correct! See? I knew you could do it! You're basically halfway there!"**

"Yeah!" Ruby fist pumped.

 **"I see! Six times five is thirty! Okay!" Narancia smiled happily.**

 **The man in blue stood up in distress, looking at the cake. "Hey, what the hell is this?!"**

"What's he mean? It's strawberry cake." Blake shook her head, as if the blue one was stupid.

 **"What do you mean? It's strawberry cake." Fugo shook his head, as if the blue one was stupid.**

Blake looked down and blushed a little at having such a similar mindset to a criminal...she was a criminal for a while so she guessed it wasn't that bad, really.

 **"Yeah, I can very clearly see that! It's obviously not chocolate cake or cheesecake! That's not the point here!" The man made a big scene. "There are four slices of cake! Do they want me to die?!"**

"...What?"

 **Fugo sighed. "Again with this, Mista?"**

"M-Mista?! What kind of name is Mista?! Mister Mista, that makes no sense!"

 **"You moron!" Mista shouted. "It's bad luck to choose from four! Choosing from five is fine, choosing from three is fine. But when you choose from four, something bad will happen!"**

"Is that true?" Ruby asked.

"I...don't think so?" Pyrrha provided with the best of her ability. "I mean, at least I've never heard that before."

 **"When I was a kid, another kid adopted a kitten from a litter of four that was born in the neighbourhood, then the cat scratched his eye right out of his head!" Mista continued, describing the horrible event. "Of course, he beat the cat to death later."**

Blake cringed.

 **The man in the blue coat stood up and grabbed a slice of cake while Mista was talking, he sat down again.**

This made Yang chuckle.

 **"That's just an old wives's tale." Fugo responded. "If you think about it rationally, when people eat a cake one slice at a time, someone's going to have to take one of the last four slices."**

"That's true," Pyrrha commented. "Taking one of the last four slices is inevitable."

 **"That's the thing, though! This is when the restaurant should be more considerate and bring us three slices instead! Talk about shitty service!"**

 **"Jeez, don't eat it then..."**

 **Mista recoiled as if he had been struck. "BUT I WANT SOME STRAWBERRY CAKE!"**

"A child...he's a child." Weiss lamented, why did she have to be constantly surrounded by children?!

 **"I did it!" Narancia exclaimed happily. They showed the notebook to Fugo, revealing their answer to 16x55 being...28. "I did it, Fugo! How's it look?"**

"Wrong, how can you even BE that wrong?" Yang scratched her head.

"Gonna need some extra practice there, that's for sure." Blake responded.

 **"You're finished? Let's have a look." The teen said, taking the book from Narancia and looking it over. "What is this?"**

Yang chuckled. "My reaction too, cheese man."

 **"Hehe. Am I right?"**

"No." Most of them said at the same time.

 **Fugo narrowed his eyes and glared at Narancia. He picked up a fork that had been laying on the table and stabbed him/her right on the cheek with it.**

"OH SHIT!" Yang jumped back.

 **Narancia stood up and staggered back, screaming out in shock and pain, Fugo reached forward and grabbed its hair, looking directly in its face. "YOU STUPID DELINQUENT, ARE YOU MESSING WITH ME!? HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TEACH YOU THIS BEFORE YOU LEARN!? YOU SHIT-FOR-BRAINS!" He slammed her/his head on the table, cracking it and spilling some tea** **.**

"Wha...this...how..." Weiss's mind tried to work, and failed.

"UM? Is it really that serious!?" Ruby exclaimed.

"He was such a good caring guy too! What the hell?!" Yang responded.

Nora, Pyrrha and Ren were shocked. Just...what the?

 **Mista looked up. "Oh, boy. He's lost it now."**

"THAT IS NOT AN APPROPRIATE RESPONSE!" Weiss screamed out in an irrational rage, much like her old cousin.

"Wait, are they used to him losing his marbles like this?" Ruby asked.

"Uh...probably." Pyrrha responded.

 **"YOU JUST SAID THAT SIX TIMES FIVE WAS THIRTY, SO WHY THE HELL WAS THE ANSWER EVEN LESS?!" Fugo roared before slamming Narancia's head down on the table again, causing all the plates to jump. He continued this motion.**

"He's really...mad." Blake said, this was worse than Adam on a bad day.

 **Mista looke over to the man next to him. "Hey, Abbacchio. Are you gonna eat that cake?"**

 **Narancia pulled a knife on him. Fugo stopped. "What? Did you just call me shit-for-brains? It's not good to look down on others. I'll kill you...I'll kill you, Fugo."**

 **"You bastard..."**

"Wow, really functional team you guys, good job!" Yang said sarcastically.

 **"What the hell are you guys doing?!" Roared the voice of Bruno Bucciarati as he walked into view. "I could hear you all the way from the entrance! You're bothering the other customers!" Jaune also walks in to view.**

"Bruno saves the day again!" Ruby squealed.

 **"This is the new member I told you guys about yesterday. Let me introduce you, this is Jaune Arc."**

 **The other members had a good look at Jaune, Abbacchio reached over and picked up the unturned teapot.**

 **Jaune took a step forward. "My name is Jaune Arc." He bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."**

"Bruno just said your name, Jaune. You don't need to say it again, I think they got the message." Ren said.

"Hopefully he makes a better impression with them, he didn't do too good here in Beacon." Pyrrha commented.

"You mean the time he threw up on my shoes? Yeah, that was fun."

"I don't like the way they're staring at him." Ruby spoke. "It's like they're judging him already."

 **Everyone was still for a few seconds, after that short pause they all resumed what they were originally doing.**

 **"I'm sorry, Fugo." Narancia apologized.**

 **"No, I should apologize. I'm sorry, Narancia."**

 **"I'll study even harder, so teach me again."**

"Well, at least that ended quick." Weiss said, now having calmed down. "Although, that Fugo person seems to have some real problems."

"Yeah, I think he might need some anger management sessions." Blake responded.

"He might need a lot more than some, from what we've seen so far." Pyrrha joined in.

 **"Hey!" Bruno called out, annoyed. "I'm the one who brought him here, so be respectful!"**

 **"Mr. Bucciarati." A staff member called.**

 **"What is it?"**

 **"There's a call for you."**

 **"Alright, thanks. Make sure you guys properly greet Jaune, Got it?!" He turned to Arc. "Jaune, I'll be right back, take some time to get to know these guys."**

"Shoot. You're just gonna feed him right to the beowolves like that, Bruno?" Yang questioned. "They clearly don't vibe with Jaune."

"They're gonna have to get along, they're a team." Ren responded.

 **Abbacchio silently pulled the teapot underneath the table, away from Jaune's vision.**

"What's he doing?" Nora asked.

 **"Alright." Said Jaune. Mista looked over to Abbacchio to find him urinating in the pot.**

"Oh..." Nora said quietly, her eyes went wide. "Oh..."

"Absolutely disgusting. As expected of a criminal like him." Weiss spoke, recoiling away from the screen as if she had been physically touched by it.

"That's so nasty!" Yang gasped. "Don't tell me he's gonna..."

 **"Jaune, was it?" The man pulled his headphones off, he smiled and put the pot on the table. "Why don't you have a seat? Let's have some tea and chat."**

The rest of them gasped.

"No way..." Said Ruby.

"That's foul! This is just hazing now!" Pyrrha spoke, exasperated.

 **The camera went over to Bruno, he picked up the scroll. "Hello, this is Bucciarati." He listened before his face grew distressed. "Alright." He pulled the scroll away and looked down at it.**

 **"Is something wrong, sir?" Asked the employee.**

 **"No." Bruno smiled. A knock came from the window next to them, an old woman was there.**

 **"Bucciarati! Bucciarati, do you have a second?"**

 **"Oh, hello, Ms. Menini. What's the matter?"**

 **"I'd like to ask you a favor, could we talk outside?"**

 **"Of course."**

"Dang it! That means Bruno's gonna be gone for a bit! Who's gonna help Jaune now?" Ruby asked.

"I...really don't know. He can't drink that man's pee, there has to be something he can do!" Blake answered.

"I would throw it in his stupid face." Yang joined in.

"That would start a fight, a fight that Arc would most definitely lose." Weiss said.

 **Jaune watched as Abbacchio poured the 'tea' into a cuç for him. "Well, drink up." The other three looked silently, watching Arc's every move. "How old are you?"**

 **"I'm seventeen."**

 **"Seventeen? Ha, you're the same age as me." Narancia said.**

Pyrrha clenched her fist, afraid this cute girl was gonna try to steal Jaune away.

Unknown to Pyrrha, Ruby was thinking the same thing.

 **"Thank you for the tea." Jaune said. He picked up the cup and brought it to his face. He smelt it and realized its true form.**

"Ah, shoot. This ain't gonna be pretty." Yang commented.

"Knowing Jaune, he'd probably drink the thing, just to make friends with these guys." Ren said.

"A friendship that they don't deserve!" Nora interrupted.

 **They noticed his reaction. "What's wrong?" Abbacchio asked. "You just thanked me for the tea that I so generously poured out for you. Since you already thanked me for it, you have to drink it. Or do you not want to drink it cause it's not very hot?"**

 **Narancia held their mouth and tried to laugh quietly, Fugo chuckled.**

"What a bunch of dummies. I wish I was there to kick their butt!" Ruby said, angry.

Pyrrha was fuming. Silently fuming.

 **Mista leaned back on his seat. "Maybe he doesn't want to drink it cause he doesn't want to be one of us."**

Blake sighed. "Damn it, Mista just backed Jaune into a corner."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, confused.

"If he doesn't show proper respect, he's less likely to get accepted into the group. Even just not drinking tea that they poured for you could make you lose all respect in the criminal underworld. And respect is everything there."

 **Bruno walked back in. "What the hell are you guys doing?!"**

"Yes! Just in time, Bruno!" Ruby spoke happily.

 **Jaune turned to him. "It's nothing. They just went through the trouble of pouring this tea for me." The sound of his stand quietly rang out as he put the cup closer to his mouth and drank it all.**

"No freakin' way!" Yang screamed.

"Uh...I told you so." Ren cringed.

"No...he did something! He did something with Gold Experience!" Pyrrha said.

"He better have done." Weiss responded.

 **"No way!" Narancia screamed.**

 **Bruno became suspicious. "What did you guys do?"**

 **Jaune put the cup back down, empty.**

 **"Gross! He actually drank it!" He/She recoiled.**

 **"Dude, you're hilarious! Did you seriously drink it?" Mista laughed.**

 **"No! There's no way he could have! Hey, how'd you do it?! Where'd you hide it?!" Fugo shook his head and leaned closer.**

 **"Hey, come on. Just tell me, okay?" Mista smiled.**

 **Jaune smirked and tilted his head to the side. "Who knows? You're all keeping your abilities secret too, aren't you?"**

 **They all gasped. 'So he's a stand user?' Abbacchio thought.**

"I don't know whether to be happy or sad at this turn of events." Weiss sighed.

"He couldn't have actually drank it, right?" Blake asked.

"No, I do think Vomit Boy did something." Yang responded.

 **'What I did with the liquid in the cup is...I used my ability to turn one of my teeth into a jellyfish, which is 98% liquid, to suck it all up.' Arc thought to himself.**

"How...how is he so smart?!" Weiss asked.

On reflex, Nora said. "Don't underestimate Fearless Leader!"

"My Oum, does his stand also give him the ability to become a biologist? I don't remember him knowing that much about animals." Yang commented.

"He must've studied REALLY hard after Beacon." Pyrrha responded.

"Well, it's his power, he has to master it." Blake spoke.

 **"Open your mouth. There's no hole, is there?" Fugo asked.**

 **"Is it, like, some ability to move things?" Narancia asked, looking Jaune up and down.**

Pyrrha and Ruby noticed that, they began to get annoyed.

 **"Did you actually drink it?" Narancia asked again. Bruno began to space out, he stared at Jaune.**

 ** _'I'm not sure what it is, but there's something about Jaune Arc that makes him hard to dislike.'_ Bucciarati reflected.**

Pyrrha nodded. Bruno knew what he was talking about.

 **"If you tell me your abilities, then I'll tell you what I did." Jaune said.**

 **"You're cautious, I respect that." Spoke Fugo.**

 **"Does Bucciarati know?" Mista asked.**

 **"Yeah."**

 _ **'They're not exactly a team yet, but we don't have any time to wait. This has to be decided**_ **now.'**

"Is something gonna happen? Do you guys think it has something to do with that scroll call?" Nora asked.

"It probably has to do with Polpo's fortune." Yang shrugged.

 **"Hey! Quit screwing around. We're going out." Bruno called.**

 **"Huh? Where?" Narancia questioned.**

 **"Follow me and you'll find out. Hurry it up." Bucciarati responded, he walked out the door. The team looked at themselves, confused. Jaune followed him almost instantly. The camera went to the streets. Bruno and his crew were walking, a bunch of people came to greet him.**

 **"Oh? Bucciarati? How are you?" A girl waved.**

 **"Hey, Bucciarati!" A young male called.**

 **"Hey, Bucciarati! Come by my shop sometime!" A man wearing a uniform and riding a moped called.**

"Bucciarati is really liked, isn't he?" Ren noted.

"It's surprising, one would think that they would hate him." Blake shrugged.

 **"I will!" Bruno responded. Mista spoke up.**

 **"Hey, what are we going to do about a car?" The blue-clad man asked.**

 **"We got a loaner." Abbacchio responded.**

 **"Since a certain someone destroyed our last one." Fugo said.**

 **"Hey, I told you that wasn't my fault!" Jaune wasn't paying that much attention, he was lost in his own thoughts.**

 **'As I suspected, the citizens trust him.' He thought to himself, Bruno looked to his side and saw the same old lady that had called him back at the restaurant. A flashback sequence initiated.**

"Flashback!~" Ruby called out, waving her hands.

 **"Bucciarati, this is my friend, she's in a bit of trouble because her son is beating her." The old lady explained. The other elderly woman she was talking about was right beside her, a giant, nasty bruise on her left eye. "Right?" The other woman nodded, she had tears in her eyes.**

"Who could ever beat such a nice old lady?" Weiss gasped in disgust at the implication of those actions. "And her own son, too?"

Ren shook his head. "Some people have no appreciation for family."

 **"I see. That's rough." Bruno spoke. He crouched down so he could have direct eye contact with the woman. "I'll give him a talking to. What's your son's name?" He said in a reassuring tone.**

 **"Thank you." The elder finally said. "He's usually such a sweet boy. But, lately, he's been getting into drugs..." She turned her head. Bruno's eyes widened.**

 **"Bucciarati, I've been living in this neighborhood for fifty years." Ms. Menini said, Bruno stood up. "But lately, I've been so anxious. Who's making them sell those drugs?" Tears began to well up in her eyes. "I'm so scared... Hey, you're going to protect us, aren't you, Bucciarati? You're on our side, right?" She looked over to Bruno, he was sweating bullets.**

 **"Yeah, I'll take care of it. I'll figure it out." He said hesitantly. The screen went gold, it was halftime.**

 **A picture of the Passione hierarchy was shown, with the boss standing at the top.**

Ruby had an idea. "Hey, guys? What if we try to figure out their identities through the picture?"

"What do you mean?" Ren asked, looking closer.

Yang noticed what they were doing and pointed to a distinct shadowy figure. "Look at this guy! He's got like a pineapple or a carrot on his head!" She chuckled.

Weiss looked to the name of the group the strange looking figure was on. "La Squadra Esecuzioni?"

Pyrrha perked up. "Oh? That means an Assassination or a Hitman team, although a more direct translation would be The Execution Squad."

"What a scary team..." Nora shivered.

 **Once the pause was over, the screen showed a port full of yachts.**

 **"We're going cruising on a yacht? That's awesome!" Narancia's voice could be heard.**

 **"When did you get a yacht?" Abbacchio's voice questioned. The group was finally in view.**

 **"We're going to rent one." Bruno answered.**

Blake hummed. "I wouldn't mind going fishing on a yacht." She commented, almost drooling thinking of all the fish she could catch.

 **"Huh?"**

 **"Ah, it's a rental." Narancia said, disappointed. Bruno entered the building on the port.**

 **"Say, Bucciarati." Mista said, Bruno stopped. "Whatever you do, please don't rent that one with the number 4. It'll sink, I know it." He pointed at the boat.**

Nora shook her head. "What's with the number 4?" She asked, turning to Ren.

"Just superstition." He shrugged.

 **"Oh, come on. If that were the case, it wouldn't be floating there now." Fugo argued.**

"Good point, Fugo." Weiss nodded.

 **"Shut up!" Mista shouted. "Then YOU can ride in that one!"**

Weiss rolled her eyes and sighed.

 **The shot changed into Narancia picking up some snacks, humming a hip hop song. The rest of them stood at the counter.**

 **"We'd like to rent a yacht." Bruno said.**

 **"Of course! You can use whichever one you like!" The shopkeeper responded.**

 **"Other than four!" Mista whispered.**

 **"All right. Sir, I'd like the one on the far left." Bruno pointed to the boat he wanted to rent.**

 **"Alright, here's your keys."**

 **"For now, I'd like to rent it for three days, how much will that cost?" Bucciarati asked.**

 **"Oh, I could never ask you for money, Mr. Bucciarati!" The shopkeeper responded. "Use it as long as you like." He gave him the keys.**

"Wow...people REALLY like Bucciarati!" Yang said, in awe at the love the man received from the general public.

"That's because Bruno is super cool!" Ruby puffed out her chest and nodded.

 **"Thanks."**

 **Narancia came back, an armful of snacks on his/her hands. "Ring me up, pops!" He/She smiled devilishly.**

 **The camera changed to the boat setting sail, it was the Lagoon 2. Jaune admired the view, Abbacchio turned around to stare at him for a second, with a small scoff.**

Pyrrha and Ruby scoffed at Abbacchio in turn.

 **The boat was finally in the seas, Fugo hummed. "This feels nice!"**

 **The center of attention shifted over to Narancia and Mista. One was listening to music on a boombox with headphones on. The other was reading a beauty magazine. The music was so loud, you could hear it clearly even though he/she was using said headphones. Mista began to get annoyed.**

"I hate when people do that." Blake said, although most of the time it wasn't the person's fault as she had increased hearing.

"That beauty magazine isn't having much effect, with clothes like that." Weiss scoffed.

 **"Hey, Narancia...Hey!" He called.**

 **"Huh?" He/She took the headphones off.**

 **"Well, uh, you know... You bought drinks, didn't you? Would you sell me one?"**

 **"What? You always say that, but you never pay!"**

 **"Oh, who cares! Gimme one!" He beckoned. "Come on, Hurry! Gimme!"**

 **"You're so helpless..." He/She reached over and opened a container, presumably full of drinks. "You want a cola or a Sparite?"**

 **"I'll take a co-...Actually, give a Sparite, since it's clear."**

"Does he also have a thing against non-clear liquids?" Nora questioned.

"I don't think so, he was about to ask for a cola." Ren responded.

 **He/She went to Mista to give him the drink. "Here you go."**

 **"Thank you. Could you hold this magazine for me?" He gave the magazine to Narancia and opened the can. "Thanks, and thanks again..." he held his hand above the magazine and purposely spilled some Sparite on his/her's boombox, he/she didn't notice.**

They chuckled at the possible girl's misfortune, though Pyrrha and Ruby for reasons that would surprise the others.

 **Narancia put the headphones back on and began to bump to a song. After a short moment, a spark ignited from the boombox and it stopped working. He/She yelped.**

 **"Hey, what's up with this thing?! It just stopped working?! Why'd it stop?! I just bought it!" Mista sipped his drink in silence. "Damn it! How dare he sell me something like this! That stupid old guy from the electronics store is gonna regret this!"**

 **"Hey, Bucciarati!" Mista shouted. "Come on, Bucciarati! Hurry up and tell us where this boat's heading!"**

 **Bruno thought about it for a moment. "Fine, now that we're far away from the shore enough. We're headed to Capri."**

Pyrrha sighed when she saw everyone looking at her. "It's a small island, just south of Argus."

 **"Capri?" Abbacchio questioned.**

 **"We're not going there as tourists, are we?" Fugo also asked.**

 **"Correct."**

 **"Then, why are we going there?" It was Mista's turn to ask, the whole squad found themselves in the front part of the boat, Narancia being the most far away one, he/she sat next to a box at the very center of it, above the rest of the gang.**

 **"This morning, the Capo Polpo comitted suicide." Bruno said, they all gasped in shock, Jaune's face went dark.**

Yang narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms at the boy's expression.

 **"W-what, suicide? Polpo did?" Mista asked, in complete surprise.**

 **"No way!" Narancia said.**

 **"But why!?" Fugo questioned.**

 **"It doesn't matter why or how he died, Polpo was a Capo that did things that'd get him killed." He looked at Jaune.**

Pyrrha nodded. "Ah, it seems that Bruno is perfectly aware of Jaune's actions."

"Why didn't he stop him then?" Yang asked.

"Arc probably did it before he knew, and since both of them are trying to overthrow the boss it was probably a good idea to ignore it." Weiss joined in.

 **"But, what does this have to do with us going to Capri?" Fugo asked.**

 **"Polpo actually has a secret fortune. It's worth...10 billion lien!" Bruno explained, striking a discreet pose.**

Yang stood up. "THAT'S EVEN MORE THAN BEFORE!"

Even Weiss was having a hard time imagining that kind of money. Sure, her parents were billionaires, but to just have ten billion hidden away?

The group imagined what do with that kind of money.

 **They gasped.**

 **"Ten billion?" Abbacchio said.**

 **"I'm the only one that knows where it is, because I'm the one he ordered to hide it. That ten billion now belongs to us! With that money, we can claim the ranks of Capo!" The realization dawned on all of them.**

"Didn't that orange-haired dude talk about that?" Ruby mentioned.

Nora nodded. "Yeah, he did mention becoming Capo."

"He said he would 'taste honey that's even sweeter'. Maybe Capos make more money than that." Ren finished her thought.

"Nah, I think he just meant you would have more power ." Yang responded.

"These people basically control the kingdom already, so I suppose that's not too far-fetched." Weiss commented.

 **"A-Awesome!" Narancia said. The camera focused on each of their thoughts individually.**

 **'He's definitely a man who's going to the top. Just like I thought, he's going to become a Capo!' Fugo thought.**

 **'He earned this opportunity by working diligently enough to be acknowledged and liked by a Capo. Amazing.' Abbacchio thought.**

 **'Seriously? This took a sudden turn for the awesome.' Mista thought.**

 **"Where is it?! Where'd you hide that kind of fortune on Capri, Bucciarati?!" Narancia asked excitedly.**

 **"I can't tell you that yet. Rumors of his hidden fortune have made the rounds in the organization. No one can find our before we secure the money." Bruno explained.**

Blake hummed. "Smart. Don't tell your subordinates the details when it's on a need to know basis."

"But wouldn't that just cause a mutiny?" Pyrrha asked.

"In normal circumstances, yes. But Bruno is obviously well liked and respected, their enemies are also mostly stand users, all of which have stranger and more unorthodox abilities when compared to semblances."

"Oh, okay then."

 **A stab noise was heard. Narancia fell backwards, screaming Bruno's name. The zipper man was the only one that noticed this, he was the only one facing that direction.**

Pyrrha cheered in celebration, this caused everyone in the room to give her an odd look. She looked down to her lap and blushed.

 **"Hey, something's wrong!" He pointed to where he/she was. "Did something happen, N** **arancia?!" This made the rest of his crew turn around. They barely saw Narancia getting dragged into something, his shoe coming off.**

 **"Narancia!" Mista exclaimed, running over to where he/she was. "What the heck are you doing?" He looked at the place, he/she wasn't there, they had completely disappeared. "H-Hey, come look at this!"**

 **They were all in the place where Narancia had vanished. "There's only a shoe here now..." Jaune pointed out.**

"I-Is Narancia dead?" Ruby asked, shivering. Yang put an arm around her.

"No, of course not. If they're after the money, then killing Bruno's subordinates will only give him more reason to NOT tell him where it is." She noticed everybody staring at her. "HEY! I can be smart too!"

 **"Give me that, Jaune!" Abbacchio said, taking the shoe from Jaune with a bit of force.**

Pyrrha huffed. "A-hole."

 **"I don't quite understand what's going on..." Fugo spoke. "Where did Narancia go?"**

 **"You guys didn't see it? To me, it looked like Narancia got pulled into this box." Said Bruno.**

"That was exactly what happened!" Nora exclaimed.

Weiss sighed. "I sense another stand battle coming soon."

 **"What?"**

 **"That's impossible! They didn't randomly fall into the ocean, did they?" Mista asked.**

 **"Narancia! Where are you!" Abbacchio shouted.**

 **"Hey, Narancia! If you're just fooling around and hiding..." Mista said, he jumped over a barricade to the bottom of the yacht. "Hurry up and answer us!"**

 **They kept this for a moment, Fugo noticed Mista being unnaturally quiet. "Mista?" He looked for the man clad in blue, he had also disappeared. "Where are you, Mista?"**

"And Mister Mista is down for the count!" Yang said.

"What is it with his name? What were his parents thinking?" Ruby wondered out loud. Weiss bonked her on the head.

"Ruby! It is rude to ask that!"

 **He jumped over and opened a compartment at the bottom floor of the boat. "It can't be, Mista! Why are you missing t-" Fugo's voice cut off. The remaining team members found this strange, they went to the place where Fugo was, he was no longer there, a dent was on the side of the compartment, revealing a struggle.**

"It must be a terrifying ability." Blake shivered.

 **"Abbacchio, Jaune! Stay close to each other!" Bruno ordered. "We're being attacked! There's someone hiding somewhere on this boat!" They assumed a triangle formation. "This is a stand attack!"**

"Well, obviously." Yang huffed.

 **"But why now?" Abbacchio asked.**

 **"The money." Bucciarati answered. "Someone found out that I knew where the money was, and they're trying to steal it. Which means they're from the organization."**

"They'd even attack their fellow gang members?" Ruby asked.

"Well...It IS ten billion lien..." Blake answered.

 **Abbacchio huffed. "Does this mean he's been quietly tracking us ever since we were on the shore?"**

 **"Looks that way. They probably grew impatient because I wouldn't just say where the money is. They intend to get rid of everyone but me, then make me cough up the location. And they can take their time, since we're on the ocean with nowhere to run." Bruno explained.**

 **"Are you saying Narancia and the others are dead?"**

 **"I didn't say that. But it's for ten billion. They'd even kill someone from their own organization for that."**

 **"No, they're alive." Jaune interrupted. This caught the attention of both men. "They're somewhere on this boat. I don't know if this person is trying to use them as hostages, but they're alive."**

"How does Vomit Boy know this?"

 **Abbacchio turned to him, an expressin of annoyance on his face. "Jaune Arc, how the hell can you be so sure about that?"**

 **Jaune pointed to a fly in the place where Fugo vanished. "I used my stand to turn Narancia's shoe into a fly. The fly is trying to return to its owner, Narancia. If they were truly dead, it wouldn't be searching around like that."**

"Oh..."

 **"Can you locate them?" Bruno asked.**

 **"They're alive...but...it's not going down to the cabin or the locker. The fly's not trying to stop. It keeps flying around that area looking for them." Jaune answered.**

 **"What the hell is his ability?" Abbacchio questioned. Bruno put a hand close to his face.**

"Awesome, that's what it is!" Ruby exclaimed proudly.

 **"Just shut up and listen."**

 **"Narancia and the others are somewhere near the entrance to the cabin, that's a fact. But, for some reason, the fly can't find them, so it's lost. I think it's safe to assume that we'll find the enemy wherever Narancia is. Which means the enemy isn't just randomly hiding behind something." Arc crouched down.**

Yang perked up. "Hey, do you think the dude is hiding in a second boat?"

"What?"

Yang blushed. "Well...it is a stand battle, those seem to get pretty weird..."

"How would the enemy even hide inside a second boat? Where would it be?" Weiss huffed.

"What if his stand allowed him to hide the second boat into the first one? And he's just picking them off from there?"" Yang responded.

"What a stupid idea, stands are stronger and weirder than semblances, but that just sound too far-fetched."

"Far-fetched? Vomit Boy can turn a shoe into an elephant? He can make your clothes turn into snaked! He could make any opponent with a prosthetic useless by turning it into a wild animal!" Xiao Long countered. "I swear... If we see a stupidly strong stand like...erasing time or something, you're going to pay me 400 lien!"

"What!? That's way too much!"

"Weren't you so sure of yourself a moment ago?" Yang smiled, knowing she'd backed the heiress into a corner.

"Fine! DEAL!" They shook hands.

 **"I see." Said Bruno. He and Abbacchio crouched beside the blond boy soon after. "So if we don't figure out the mystery behind the enemy's ability, getting too close without knowing could get us killed."**

 **"Correct. But the fact that their ability requires them to attack while hidden is a shortcoming, if we can figure out how it works, we'll be able to defeat them." Bucciarati turned to the goth man.**

 **"Abbacchio, your stand...might be perfect to defeat such an enemy."**

"Ohhhh! We get to see the other stands!" Pyrrha kind-of-fangirled.

 **"Defeat?" Jaune asked. "Can you solve this with your ability?"**

 **Abbacchio was in silence for a moment, the camera focused on his face, revealing the yellow and purple color of his eyes. "Hard to say..."**

 **Bruno scoffed. "Damn it, Abbacchio! You better not be hung up on stupid shit at a time like this!"**

 **"Stupid shit? No. This has to do with my safety. I can't just carelessly reveal my stand ability in front of a stranger I can't trust." Jaune had an irritated look. "Bucciarati, I don't know what made you trust this guy, but I don't consider him a part of the team."**

"A-hole..." Ruby whispered.

 **"If we don't figure out the enemy's location, we're going to be killed!" Bruno argued.**

 **"And I'm saying that's just this untrustworthy brat's hypothesis. He came up with it out of fear, he didn't actually see anything."**

"A-hole..." Pyrrha huffed.

 **"Abbacchio!" Bruno scolded.**

 **"The enemy's just hiding somewhere in the cabin, I'll find them and take care of them." Abbacchio said.**

 **"If we get close without figuring out the enemy's ability, we're going to be ki-" Jaune started.**

 **"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Abbacchio interrupted. "You stupid little brat..." he hissed. Jaune had a moment of silence.**

"ASSHOLE!" Pyrrha yelled out!

"DUMMY!" Ruby yelled out!

 **He put his hand on his chest. " _I, Jaune Arc, have a dream."_**

"i will say, Vomit Boy looks very charismatic now, unlike before."

"It's like he's a completely different person, honestly." Blake said.

 **"What are you talking about?" Abbacchio questioned, confused. Jaune got up and proceeded to run.**

 **"You can solve the mystery, right? I'm counting on you."**

 **"Jaune! What the hell are you doing!?" Bruno called out. Jaune jumped over to a hole in the boat.**

 **A huge, white, lanky arm grabbed his back and stabbed him with a rapier, a soft piano began to play, Jaune's face started to wrinkle. "J-Jaune!" Bruno screamed.**

"JAUNE!" Ruby and Pyrrha screamed.

 **"There's an enemy over there! Shit! Jaune's in trouble!" He was about to step up, Abbacchio's arm stopped him from doing so, the goth man had gotten up before him. The music hit a climax. "Abbacchio..." A light green aura was emanating from him.**

 **"Jaune Arc...you're one crazy bastard. All this just to prove yourself..." The aura started getting stronger. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Another being was seen almost going out of Abbacchio's body, the episode ended.**

"NO!" Pyrrha screamed. "OUM DAMN IT, WHY DOES IT ALWAYS END LIKE THIS?!" She exclaimed loudly, Yang put her hands around the champion's shoulder.

"Whoa! Calm down P-Money, you'll see it next episode."

"Yeah...I guess you're right...at least I don't have to wait a week for it."

"Well...this isn't a TV show. It's real life made to look like a tv show." Weiss spoke.

"I still find that weird." Yang responded. "That soundtrack banged though! Props to magicman for the amazing OST."

Ruby clapped her hands. "So, what did everyone think about the episode?"

"Well...is Jaune gonna be fine? Other than that, it was fine, I approve." Nora gave a thumbs up.

Ren smiled. "I agree, they are very different to us, but they still have good sinergy and energy, despite some of their...quirks."

Pyrrha clenched her fists. "I don't like Narancia."

Yang smirked. "Looks like you have your first romantic rival, eh?"

"Looks to be second, actually." The red-haired girl responded.

"Second? I'm pretty sure you were the only girl at Beacon who liked Jaune. No offense to him, he was and is still good looking, but he was far too introverted and dorky to get any real attention."

Ruby glanced at Yang then returned her attention to the black screen. This caught the eye of Blake, her face changing into an evil smirk. She chuckled to herself as Ren fired up the next episode.

* * *

 **And that's that! Thanks for reading! Next chapter is...Moody Blues! *Phone Noises***

 **This is Kyraptor, signing off.**

 **Chapter Status: RETIRED.**


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